HEMET, CA.
Hemet Police Department | Contributed
On Thursday, May 5, 2022, at about 10:30 am., a Hemet Police Motorcycle Officer was conducting extra traffic enforcement in the area of Mayberry Ave. and Panorama Dr. due to complaints from the residents in the area. The officer saw a male subject riding a green Kawasaki Ninja ‘sport bike’ motorcycle, drive westbound through the intersection without stopping for the posted “stop” sign.
Hemet PD Lieutenant Eric Dickson said that the officer followed the sport bike rider and as the subject turned north onto Lyon Ave., the officer initiated an enforcement stop. The sport bike rider immediately accelerated away at a very high rate of speed and the officer did not pursue.
The sport bike rider continued accelerating northbound and went through the intersection of Acacia Ave. The sport bike rider continued northbound and attempted to cross Florida Ave. against a red signal at speeds estimated to be significantly greater than 70 miles per hour.
The traffic on Florida Ave. was “fairly heavy” at the time and the sport bike rider struck a white PT Cruiser that was driving west on Florida in the #1 westbound lane in a broadside collision.
The collision caused the white PT Cruiser to veer into the #2 westbound lane, colliding into a gray Hyundai.
The sport bike rider was ejected from the motorcycle and landed on top of a gray Ford that was stopped facing south in the southbound lane of Lyon, just north of Florida Ave.
The Officer arrived at the scene about a minute later and began coordinating medical aid for the sport bike rider and the occupants of the other vehicles.
The motorcyclist was rushed by ground ambulance to Hemet Global Medical Center where he later succumbed to his injuries.
The driver of the PT Cruiser was also transported to Hemet Hospital for complaint of wrist pain, while the other two involved drivers were uninjured in the fatal crash.
Preliminary investigation revealed that the green sport bike had been reported stolen out of Hemet on May 4th. The sport bike rider was identified as Cody Atchley, 35, of Nuevo.
The intersection where the crash occurred was partially closed for several hours but was reopened later the same day.
Anyone with further information regarding this investigation is encouraged to contact Hemet PD at (95) 765-2400. Callers can refer to incident file number 2022-02850 and can remain anonymous.
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