MISSION VIEJO : Motorcyclist Dies After Hitting Car

A Mission Viejo motorcyclist died this week after he lost control at high speed and crashed into an oncoming van on Marguerite Parkway, authorities said.

James Webster, 46, was pronounced dead at Mission Hospital Medical Center on Wednesday after the 7:47 p.m. crash, which also injured the driver of the van, said Lt. Rex Hatch of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.

Webster was weaving in and out of traffic at a “high rate of speed” on the northbound side of Marguerite Parkway when his motorcycle clipped a car going in the same direction, Hatch said. The impact sent Webster airborne over the median and into a southbound van near the intersection of Estanciero Drive, Hatch said.

The van careened across the divider into oncoming lanes, but struck no cars before coming to rest on a slope, Hatch said. Driver Janet Shannon, 40, of Mission Viejo was treated for minor injuries.

The accident occurred near the spot where a carload of high school students crashed two weeks ago after the driver lost control as the vehicle sped in and out of traffic. Hatch said people drive too fast on that stretch, which is posted at 45 m.p.h. He did not know how fast Webster was going.