Motorcyclist Killed during Stunt on I-15 Fwy in Corona
Posted by Motorcycle Lawyer Pro | Filed under: Motorcycle AccidentJuly 20, 2017
July 19th ─ 1 man is dead after a motorcycle stunt goes wrong on California’s I-15 freeway Sunday morning. The man was identified as Leslie Elliott, 28-years old of Garden Grove, according to the Riverside County Coroner’s Bureau. Elliott was driving with around 20 to 30 motorcycle enthusiasts that form a group called Ruthless Ryderz who were performing stunts. The group was riding north on the I-15 Freeway near Weirick Road just before 10 a.m. The group slowed down and began blocking traffic on the I-15 Freeway so that riders could perform illegal stunts. Elliott attempted to stand on his motorcycle but fell to the ground when the bike became unstable and he lost his balance. Elliott was wearing a helmet when he fell from his motorcycle but the impact of the fall caused him to suffer major head trauma. After the accident, the other motorcyclists began blocking lanes on the I-15freeway. A SigAlert was issued and traffic was backed up for about 4 miles on the southbound side of the I-15 Freeway and about 3 miles on the northbound side. California Highway Patrol was able to clear the roadway by about 10:40 a.m. According to CHP, members of the club at the crash scene were not cooperative, and had removed Elliott’s motorcycle from the freeway and hid it at a nearby Arco gas station. Elliott was transported to Corona Regional Medical Center where he was pronounced dead by medical staff. Elliott leaves behind a 5-year old son.
Authorities say the same group was captured on cellphone video on the 60 Freeway in Diamond Bar earlier that same morning. Raul Zavaleta, who captured the video, says he was on the freeway when they came across the group of motorcyclists. “We’re driving and we notice they were doing wheelies, cutting in and out of traffic, just being a menace, and we noticed one guy was doing a wheelie, had a gal on the back of his motorcycle, and once he came down off his wheelie, she fell off the motorcycle and started tumbling down the freeway,” said Zavaleta. The video shows the incident happening as a woman falls off one of the motorcycles, and bringing traffic to a halt.
Daniel Weatherbie, who is not affiliated with the Ruthless Ryderz, and who once rode motorcycles, admits the freeway is not the place to practice these dangerous types of stunts. “Most motorcycle riders that ride sport bikes, especially younger ones, tend to do it for the adrenaline. I used to stunt in parking lots to isolate myself from the general populace. It’s one thing to injure or kill yourself, it’s another thing to injure or kill someone else,” Weatherbie said.
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