5 DEAD, 6 INJURED IN OCOTILLO CRASH, INCLUDING 4 MEMBERS OF AN EAST COUNTY MOTORCYCLE CLUB
Authorities seek driver who fled scene after crossing line, causing collision
Update Nov. 14: Authorities now say that the driver who fled the scene was in a gold Honda Civic
November 13, 2010 (Ocotillo) – A horrific pileup today included seven motorcycles from Lakeside’s Saddle Tramps club and two other vehicles. The crash left five dead, including at least four East County residents, and injured six others.
According to the CHP, a car crossed the center line on State Route 98 seven miles east of Ocotillo around 1 p.m., attempting to pass a group of motorcyclists. A sedan veered to avoid a head-on collision with the car, then struck several motorcycles.
Authorities seek the car that witnesses believe caused the accident by passing unsafely. “He fled the scene. He did not stop,” Captain Peter Stanton at the Imperial County Fire Department informed East County Magazine. No description of the vehicle has been released.
Stanton said the motorcyclists were traveling together and were members of the Saddle Tramps motorcycle club in Lakeside. “Two of the deceased were from Alpine,” he said. The other two motorcyclist fatalities were from Ramona and El Cajon.
The driver of the sedan, which had Mexican license plates, was seriously injured and his passenger, a woman, was killed.
“Some of the injuries were major trauma,” Stanton said, confirming that at least one victim had a limb severed. Medical helicopters flew the injured patients to hospitals in San Diego and Palm Springs, while ambulances transported additional patients to hospitals in El Centro and Brawley.
CHP officers, Border Patrol, Bureau of Land Management, Imperial Valley Sheriff’s deputies and Imperial Valley County Fire Department responded to the crash. The highway remains closed tonight as an investigation into the deadly crash continues.