Briefly in the news

A 22-year-old Costa Mesa man was killed Monday morning when he lost

control of his motorcycle and crashed into a guard rail on Ortega Highway

14 miles east of the San Diego Freeway, officials said.

According to witnesses, the man, whose name will not be released until

his family members are notified, was driving eastbound on the highway at

about 70 miles an hour, California Highway Patrol officials said.

“Due to the high rate of speed, he was unable to negotiate a curve,”

said Officer S. Haro. “The motorcycle slid on the asphalt and struck the

guard rail.”

The man was thrown south of the guard rail and his 1993 Suzuki

motorcycle landed 80 feet away from him, he said.

“There were no witnesses to the actual crash,” said Haro. “But there

were witnesses who saw the victim, prior to the crash, rocking his

motorcycle side to side and accelerating like he was testing it.”

The man was wearing a helmet, but that did not prevent the fatal

injuries, he said. Officers found a DMV permit on the man but were not

sure if it belonged to him, Haro said.