Motorcycle Passenger Killed In Ortega Crash Identified

LAKE ELSINORE, CA — A motorcycle passenger killed when two motorcyclists careened into stopped traffic on the Ortega (74) Highway near Lake Elsinore was identified Monday as a 51-year-old Corona resident.

Tina Coats was fatally injured about 10:50 a.m. Sunday in the area of El Cariso Village, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The victim was on the back of a 2008 Harley driven by 62-year-old Michael Zawicki of Corona, Officer Mike Lassig said.

According to Lassig, Zawicki was going west on the Ortega when he had to come to a complete stop because of a collision involving several cars.

As the motorcyclist and Coats sat on his idle bike, 60-year-old Faustino Ochoa of Aliso Viejo and 51-year-old Declan Kenny of San Clemente rounded a bend going west, heading toward the wreck -- Ochoa on his 2015 Yamaha motorcycle, and Kenny on his 2018 Ducati motorcycle, Lassig said.

He said both motorcyclists braked when they saw traffic stopped directly ahead of them, but one of the bikes struck the left side of the Harley, impacting Coats.

Both Ochoa and Kenny were injured. Zawicki was not hurt.

Riverside County Fire Department paramedics arrived within a few minutes and pronounced the victim dead at the scene.

Ochoa was taken to Inland Valley Medical Center in Wildomar for treatment of moderate injuries, but Kenny declined to be transported for treatment of minor injuries, according to Lassig.

The highway was shut down for an hour because of the crash, which remains under investigation.

— By City News Service