Motorcyclist dies after losing control and hitting guardrail near Mission Bay

A 22-year-old motorcyclist was killed Sunday night in a crash near Mission Bay when he lost control of his bike and ran into a guardrail, San Diego police said.

The crash was reported about 7:50 p.m. on West Mission Bay Drive near Ingraham Street. The motorcyclist died at the scene, police said.

The man was riding a 2020 Kawasaki Ninja south on West Mission Bay Drive and took the ramp to merge onto Ingraham at a high rate of speed. He hit the guardrail and was thrown from the bike.

His name was not released.

Woman hit, killed by street sweeper in Kearny Mesa

KEARNY MESA

A pedestrian was killed when she was struck by a street sweeper at a Kearny Mesa intersection Sunday.

The collision happened shortly after 10 p.m. at the intersection of Clairemont Mesa Boulevard and Overland Drive, just east of state Route 163, San Diego police Officer John Buttle said.

A 35-year-old man was driving a 2006 Toyota Tundra street sweeper west on Clairemont Mesa Boulevard when the Toyota struck a woman who was apparently standing still in the crosswalk, Buttle said.

The victim, whose age and name were not immediately available, died at the scene, he said.

Venomous snake bites worker at San Diego Zoo

SAN DIEGO

A venomous snake bit a San Diego Zoo employee Monday afternoon, and paramedics took the staffer to a hospital.

About 2 p.m., an African bush viper bit a wildlife care specialist who was caring for the reptile outside of the public area, zoo spokesman Andrew James said.

“Although the San Diego Zoo cares for a number of venomous reptiles, incidents like this are very rare, and the snake was contained at all times with no risk of an escape,” he said in a statement provided to the Union-Tribune.

As is protocol, he said, the staffer was immediately taken to the hospital for evaluation and medical care.

San Diego Fire-Rescue paramedics took the snake-bite victim to a hospital, the department said.

teri.figueroa@sduniontribune.com

19-year-old driver suffers head trauma in solo crash

OCEANSIDE

A 19-year-old man suffered head trauma Sunday night when he lost control of his car, slammed into a retaining wall and then hit a light pole and sign in Oceanside, police said.

The driver was traveling north on El Camino Real, just south of Mission Avenue, just before 8:45 p.m. when he crashed, said police Lt. Taurino Valdovinos. No other vehicles were involved.

The man totaled the Ford Focus he was driving. He was transported by helicopter to a hospital to be treated for head trauma, Valdovinos said.

The driver was evaluated and alcohol did not appear to be a factor in the collision, he said.

karen.kucher@sduniontribune.com

Fire set to clear downed trees, brush in state park CUYAMACA RANCHO STATE PARK

A fire was intentionally set early Monday in Cuyamaca Rancho State Park with the goal of burning fallen trees, brush and other fuels in a 50-acre site, fire officials said.

The prescribed fire was set around 7 a.m. and was sending up a plume of smoke that was visible in the surrounding areas, Cal Fire spokesman Frank LoCoco said.

He said the burn area is east of Lake Cuyamaca, near the Azalea Loop Trail. The fire is being managed by state parks workers and monitored by Cal Fire firefighters. “Working with our partners and others, this burn will reduce fire load and improve habitat,” Cal Fire said on Twitter.

On Monday afternoon, two of the Cal Fire crew members helping to monitor the controlled blaze had an allergic reaction to a plant or something in the soil and were taken to a hospital as a precaution, LoCoco said.

Emergency radio traffic indicated they were being taken by ambulance to UC San Diego Medical Center’s burn unit, but LoCoco said their only issue was the allergic reaction and no injuries were related to flames or smoke.

Lawsuit against city, county alleges civil rights violations SAN DIEGO

A man who said he was jabbed with a police baton and shot with beanbags during a protest in downtown San Diego last year is suing the city and the county, alleging civil rights violations.

In his federal lawsuit, filed Friday in San Diego, Matthew Burgess also alleges negligence and lack of training for both San Diego police and San Diego County sheriff ’s deputies in relation to actions taken by law enforcement during the May 31 protest to decry police brutality.

Neither law enforcement agency immediately responded to a request for comment.

According to the suit, the city and the county have already denied claims filed by Burgess, who shot cellphone video during the protest. Such claims can be a precursor to a lawsuit.

It’s not clear which agency was involved in the actions Burgess alleges in his lawsuit. According to the complaint, Burgess filed a claim with the city of San Diego, but the city noted that the uniformed people seen firing projectiles on Burgess’ video were not San Diego police, but sheriff ’s deputies. The county said sheriff ’s deputies were not at the protest.

The protest on Broadway near State Street drew hundreds of participants. It happened less than a week after George Floyd died in Minneapolis — an encounter that prompted national outcry — and the day after a protest in La Mesa turned riotous, with businesses looted and three buildings burned.

The suit alleges violations of both the Bane Act and the Ralph Act, state laws that offer civil rights protections, and alleges that Burgess’ affiliation with the Black Lives Matter movement was a “substantial motivating reason” for law enforcement’s behavior.

Burgess’ lawsuit alleges that one officer jabbed him in the stomach with a baton, and other officers deployed pepper spray or a similar irritant on him. It also states that law enforcement fired “kinetic impact projectiles” at protesters, and that he was he was struck twice in his legs, then once in his back when he turned to flee.

The suit included allegations of battery and excessive force against the officer who he said jabbed him and those who fired the chemical irritant.

Aside from an unspecified amount of monetary damages, the suit is also seeking a change in the policies governing each agency’s use of less-than-lethal weapons such as beanbags and pepper spray, and the general response to political demonstrations.