Motorcyclist Killed In Collision IDed as Active Duty Military

A motorcyclist killed in a fiery collision on Interstate 8 in Mission Valley was identified Friday as a 22-year-old active duty member of the military.

The motorcyclist, a man whose name and branch of military service were withheld, was pronounced dead at 4:28 p.m. Thursday on eastbound I-8 at Mission Center Road, according to the San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office.

Less than a half-hour earlier, he crashed his eastbound two-wheeler into a car and both vehicles became engulfed in flames, the California Highway Patrol reported.

Passers-by stopped and performed CPR on the downed rider before the arrival of paramedics. The cause of death was multiple blunt force injuries, according to the ME's Office, which reported that the man lived in San Diego County.

No other injuries were reported.

Witnesses told officers that the motorcyclist was weaving across the road, possibly trying to merge onto nearby I-805, at speeds of up to about 100 mph just prior to the collision.

The crash left the entire eastbound side of the freeway blocked in the area for a time, snarling rush-hour traffic.

—City News Service