Female Passenger Falls off Motorcycle on Ortega Highway, Dies

A woman in her early 60s was killed today when she fell off a motorcycle being operated by her husband and went over the side of Ortega Highway in Cleveland National Forest, a fire department captain said.

A witness in a following car went to a U.S. Forest Service Fire Station around 4:40 p.m. to report that the woman flew off the bike about 13 miles east of the San Diego (5) Freeway, said Capt. Steve Concialdi of the Orange County Fire Authority.

"The witness said she was on the back of the bike and fell off," he said.

Personnel from the OCFA and USFS located the woman's body around 5:05 p.m., Concialdi said, adding that she was pronounced dead at the scene.

The woman's husband was not injured, he said.

The California Highway Patrol was investigating the fatality, Concialdi said.

It was the second death today involving a motorcycle on a rural Orange County road after a man in his 30s was killed about 11:15 a.m. in a single-vehicle crash while riding with other motorcyclists in Trabuco Canyon, Concialdi said.

The captain warned riders and other motorists to obey posted speed limits while enjoying mountain and canyon roads.

"They are great, safe roads," but can be the scenes of deadly crashes when motorists exceed speed limits, he said.