Motorcycle officer suffers minor injuries in freeway hit and run

BONSALL - An El Cajon police motorcycle officer escaped serious injury on Tuesday, Dec. 4 when a collision with a hit-and-run driver caused him to tumble onto Interstate 15 in Bonsall while on his way to work.

The uniformed lawman was riding to the south about 6:30 a.m. when the driver's side of a silver Ford Fusion sideswiped his patrol two-wheeler south of Camino del Rey, according to the California Highway Patrol.

Following the impact, the man behind the wheel of the car continued driving and exited at nearby Gopher Canyon Road, CHP public-affairs Officer Mark Latulippe said.

The officer, who had suffered superficial injuries in the crash, was able to get back onto his motorcycle and continue his commute.

Two witnesses, meanwhile, chased the scraped-up Fusion and tried to use their vehicles to box it in near the freeway, but the fleeing driver managed to elude them, re-enter southbound I-15 and escape.

The sedan, which bore blue paper license plates from El General Auto Dealer in Colton, is believed to be a 2010, 2011 or 2012 model. It was not immediately clear if it had been bought or possibly stolen recently at that San Bernardino County car dealership.

"We're still investigating the origin of the vehicle,'' Latulippe said.

Investigators are confident that the hit-and-run driver was aware that he had been involved in a collision with the officer, according to the CHP spokesman.

The only available description of the involved motorist was a man wearing eyeglasses.