‘Weather may have played a role’ in death of pedestrian, 82, struck by vehicle
A driver struck and killed an 82year-old pedestrian Monday night on a rain-soaked road in Escondido, police said.
The crash happened just before 6:50 p.m. as the driver of a Kia Optima was headed north on North Midway Drive near Valley Parkway, police Lt. Scott Walters said in a news release.
The victim, an Escondido man whose name was not released, was crossing Midway Drive between Valley Parkway and East Washington Avenue when the sedan struck and killed him, Walters said.
The Kia’s driver, a 36-year-old Escondido man, was not injured. Police don’t believe alcohol or drugs were factors in the crash, but “weather may have played a role,” Walters said in the news release.
Escondido police traffic division Officer Adan Martinez is investigating, and anyone who may have witnessed it or has other information about the crash was asked to call Martinez at (760) 839-4729.
alex.riggins@sduniontribune.com
Motorcyclist killed in Escondido crash ID’d
ESCONDIDO
A 60-year-old motorcyclist who was killed in a crash with an SUV last week at an Escondido intersection has been identified Tuesday.
Shaun Van Reeth, whose residence was unknown, died in the Dec. 23 crash, according to the San Diego County Medical Examiner. He was pronounced dead at Paand lomar Medical Center.
The incident happened about 12:30 p.m. on Bear Valley Parkway at Hayden Drive, just south of Valley Parkway, Escondido police said in a news release.
The motorcyclist was riding a 2006 Yamaha YZ450F — a dirt bike designed for off-road use that’s not street legal — and was heading north on the sidewalk along Bear Valley Parkway when he ran a red light at Hayden Drive, police said.
Police and the Medical Examiner’s Office said Van Reeth was riding the dirt bike “at a high rate of speed” when he pulled into traffic, according to witnesses, and was struck by a Lexus NX 300 SUV. The Lexus had the green light.
Van Reeth was thrown from the motorcycle and hit a pole in the median, the Medical Examiner’s Office said, citing information from witnesses.
The 30-year-old Escondido woman driving the SUV was not hurt.