Motorcycle Crash Victim Identified

Officials on Monday released the name of a Simi Valley man who died in a motorcycle crash, while the county medical examiner’s office conducted an autopsy to determine the cause of the fatal accident in a rural area of eastern Ventura County.

Simi Valley police officers said they were trying to determine whether alcohol played a role in the man’s death.

At about 6 p.m. Sunday, Vincent Joe Massullo, 43, was traveling south on Kuehner Drive near Rocky Peak at an excessive speed when he lost control of his motorcycle and slid on the pavement, striking an oncoming car driven by 36-year-old Carlos Ruelas Chavez of Reseda, said Simi Valley Police Sgt. John McGinty.

Other than appearing disoriented, Massullo showed no outward signs of serious injury, authorities said. When Chavez offered to help, the injured man refused, instead requesting that Chavez take him to a friend’s home.

A short time later, Massullo, a divorced father of a teenage boy, went into cardiac arrest. Chavez called 911 and requested that paramedics meet him at Kuehner Drive north of the Ronald Reagan Freeway, authorities said.

Paramedics arrived and started administering cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Massullo was taken to Simi Valley Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at about 6:30 p.m.

McGinty said alcohol may have been a factor in Massullo losing control of the motorcycle.

Massullo’s mother and stepfather live in Victorville, and his biological father lives in the Midwest, authorities said. It was not known where his ex-wife and son reside.

The Simi Valley police traffic unit is conducting the investigation.