Crime & Safety
Funeral Escort Motorcycle Crash Sends Driver to Hospital
SigAlert declared on the Ventura Freeway near Tujunga Avenue exit.
A civilian motorcyclist escorting a funeral procession was injured when his bike was struck by another vehicle on the westbound Ventura Freeway in Studio City on Saturday, a California Highway Patrol officer said.
The collision took place near the Tujunga Avenue exit on the 101 Freeway around noon, CHP Officer Francisco Villalobos said.
"The motorcyclist who was accompanying a funeral procession at the time was struck by a Nissan truck," Villalobos said.
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Fire department paramedics took the victim to a hospital for treatment of injuries suffered in the crash, said fire department spokesman Brian Humphrey. There was no word on his condition.
The crash shut down several lanes of the freeway and a SigAlert was declared, Villalobos said.
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As of 1:15 p.m. only the No. 5 lane was still closed but CHP investigators were still at the scene, Villalobos said. The crash remained under investigation, he said.
California law does not allow funeral escorts to have any unusual driving privileges, and they are not licensed or allowed to perform police functions such as directing traffic, stopping cars or running signals, police have said.
