Motorcycle Collision Injures Two, Starts Fire on Angeles Crest

Angeles Crest Highway was closed to travelers both east- and westbound for about three hours Saturday, June 23. The cause was a motorcycle accident near the 32.85-mile marker that started a fire that burned one-tenth of an acre in the Angeles National Forest.

According to California Highway Patrol officers Michael Morrin and Todd Workman, the motorcycles sideswiped each other at a curve on the highway. One of the cyclists was a 41-year-old man from La Mirada; the second was a 32-year-old man from Torrance. Both sustained broken right legs, broken fingers and several cuts and bruises. The investigation into the crash is ongoing, however it is known that one of the motorcycles leaked fuel when it slammed onto the pavement. This ignited a fire on the side of a cliff.

The initial call came into CHP around 9:15 a.m. when a citizen who walked in to the Clear Creek Ranger Station reported the fire. Firefighters responded quickly and had the blaze under control in less than an hour.

The two motorcyclists, whose names were not released by the CHP, were treated at the scene and then evacuated by helicopter, one to Huntington Memorial Hospital in Pasadena and the other to Holy Cross in Mission Hills.

"The [motorcycle drivers] reported they were going 40 to 45 miles per hour," Workman said.

Traffic was first stopped near the crash site for travelers heading westbound, and near the Clear Creek station for those heading east. As the wait continued, many motorists got out of their vehicles and began talking to each other about where they were heading. Soon footballs were being thrown around, music from car stereos was blaring and the smell of suntan lotion filled the air. Once it was discovered that a fire had to be contained, Crescenta Valley Sheriff's Station deputies announced the wait could be over two hours. Most of the motorists turned around to find another route. About an hour after the incident, deputies decided to close Angeles Crest Highway to through traffic at the freeway exit in La Cañada.

The 'Crest is a popular path for motorcyclists, especially on weekends. The turns that make the ride so popular are also the cause of many accidents, as is excessive speeding, the CHP's Morrin said.

"I have written five tickets for motorcycle speeding already this morning," Morrin said the morning of the accident. "In fact, I was writing a speeding ticket to a motorcycle [rider] as I got this call."

Morrin credits the ANF's fire department for its quick response to the fire.

"It could have been much worse," he said.