Motorcyclist dies, 90-year-old driver hospitalized following Huntington Beach collision

Huntington Beach police are investigating a fatal collision that occurred Wednesday on Beach Boulevard near Adams Avenue that caused the death of a motorcyclist and the hospitalization of a 90-year-old motorist, police reported.

The incident occurred shortly before 4:30 p.m., when the victim — described as a 54-year-old man from Stanton — was driving his Harley Davidson motorcycle northbound on Beach Boulevard and collided with a Toyota RAV-4 traveling south and attempting to make a left-hand turn across traffic just north of Adams, according to a release issued Thursday.

At the time of the collision, the vehicle was in a left turn pocket that HBPD spokeswoman Jennifer Carey said was not protected by a traffic light. The driver of the RAV-4 was identified as a 90-year-old man from Huntington Beach.

When officers arrived on scene, they found the motorcyclist already deceased. The other motorist sustained injuries from the impact and was transported to a nearby hospital but released by Thursday afternoon, Carey confirmed. It is unknown whether drugs or alcohol may have played a role in the collision.

The Orange County coroner’s office as of Thursday afternoon had not yet released the identity of the motorcyclist, pending notification of next of kin.

Wednesday’s incident marks the second fatal collision in Huntington Beach involving a motorcyclist in recent weeks. Meghan Wautlet, 22, of Huntington Beach, died on Sept. 11 after the Harley Davidson she was riding with 21-year-old John Murray III, also a resident of the city, collided with a vehicle making a legal U-turn on Pacific Coast Highway near Bolsa Chica State Beach.

Police determined the motorcycle had been traveling at a high rate of speed at the time of the incident. Murray was hospitalized with significant injuries, while Wautlet was pronounced dead at the scene.

Huntington Beach police’s Multidisciplinary Accident Investigation Team are investigating Wednesday’s collision. Anyone who may have information on the incident or the events leading up to it is encouraged to contact HBPD Traffic Investigator Doug Demetre at (714) 536-5670 or Investigator Vishal Rattanchandani at (714) 536-5231.

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