A 25-year-old man was riding a Harley-Davidson Sportster motorcycle southbound on Red Hill Avenue this morning died at 6:45 a.m. when he slammed into the back of a street sweeper, according to the O.C. Register.
The victim has been identified as Mateus Castro. He was ejected from his motorcycle when he crashed into the street sweeper, near the 2800 block of Red Hill, according to the SAPD.
According to his girlfriend, Kenia Plazola, Castro was riding her motorcyle because the brake lights on his own motorcycle were not working and his license plate had broken off. Plazola also says that the motorcycle that crashed was found to have been in second gear – which is about 20 mph. She said that Castro had been riding Harley motorbikes for over three years and he was a very safe driver.
Responding paramedics pronounced the rider, Castro, deceased at the scene. The driver of the sweeper vehicle remained at the scene where he cooperated throughout the investigation. Alcohol and/or drugs do not appear to be a factor.
Tustin police initially responded to the accident but it was near Red Hill and East Warner Avenues, on the other side of their city border with Santa Ana.
The SAPD had to close down southbound Red Hill Avenue between East Warner Avenue and Barranca Parkway during their investigation.
The northbound lanes of the street remain open but police are advising drivers to avoid Red Hill Avenue until at least Thursday afternoon.
Any person who may have witnessed this collision or has additional information is asked to call SAPD Investigator Bao at (714) 245-8214.
I understand that writing is your job but before giving out information on situations you THINK you are informed of, wait and get all your facts straight. My boyfriend is a cautious and careful driver. He has been riding Harley’s for over 3 years now. He is the one who taught me and continued to teach me how to ride. Informing people that he was driving at “clearly unsafe speeds” is a huge misconception you just created to gain media and to obviously point fingers at the motorcyclist. The bike was found in 2nd gear which to your knowledge is clearly unsafe, by the way that’s 20mph. Secondly the street sweeper was not at a stop as you had mentioned. Thirdly the bike he was riding was mine. He had asked to borrow my bike because the brake lights on his bike were not working. Not only that but his license plate had broken off. He was concerned, he was careful, he took precaution for his safety and others. Our family, myself and Mateus have taken this article very personal. It is a horrifying experience having to mourn your loved one but having the media creating untruthful facts is another. I ask you to remove or rewrite this article. I want people to know the truth about Mateus not the story a stranger wrote for the sake of a “good” story.
I understand that this will not bring our Mateus back but I will protect his name just as I did in life.
I am very sorry for your loss. We based our post on what the SAPD and the OC Register made available.
Thanks for setting the record straight.
It brings me comfort that you understand. Set the story the straight now that you have the honest facts or please remove this article.
I will be contacting the OC Register and the SAPD as well.
I will do so tonight. Thanks again.
Thank you so much