CHP officer injured in crash on 78

ESCONDIDO (CNS) - A California Highway Patrol motorcycle officer suffered severe injuries today in a collision with an SUV near the intersection of state Route 78 and Interstate 15, authorities reported.

The lawman was headed east on SR-78 in western Escondido in heavy traffic when his Harley-Davidson rear-ended a Chevrolet Traverse east of Nordahl Road and toppled over shortly before 9 a.m., CHP public-affairs Officer Mark Latulippe said.

As the patrolman, a 21-year CHP veteran, slid across the roadway into a center-median area, a Subaru WRX sedan struck his motorcycle.

Witnesses, including a...