Speeding motorcycle crashes into trolley in Santee

SANTEE — A motorcyclist described by sheriff’s officials as an outlaw gang member struck a trolley in Santee Saturday while trying to outrace a deputy, authorities said.

A crowd of possibly several dozen other motorcycle riders gathered around the crash scene on Mission Gorge Road at Cuyamaca Street, sheriff’s Lt. Mike Munsey said.

A number deputies responded, some with rifles out, to keep order and hold back the crowd.

Deputies were keeping an eye on a group of about 60 riders, from the Mongols and another motorcycle club, who were passing through Santee on their way to a gathering, Munsey said.

A deputy tried to pull over one rider for a traffic violation at 5:07 p.m. and the motorcyclist sped away westbound on Mission Gorge, then crashed into the side of a moving trolley about 30 seconds later, sheriff’s officials said.

The rider suffered scrapes and other injuries believed to be minor to moderate. He was taken by ambulance to a hospital. The motorcycle was demolised and the trolley had moderate damage, sheriff’s Sgt. David Martinez said.

Nearly an hour later and across the county, the California Highway Patrol got reports of 30 to 100 Mongols club members blocking the right lane of northbound Interstate 15 near the Riverside County line, where one rider had crashed.

Officers said they found no injured victim, and no sign of a semi-truck a witness had said was involved, or nearly involved, in a collision with the motorcycle. The witness reported that the damaged bike was put into the back of a pickup, according to the CHP website.

A CHP dispatcher said there was a report that some motorcyclists were involved in a stabbing just north of the county line.