Motorcycle Wreck Snarls Jefferson Traffic

Two were hospitalized when a motorcycle hit a car on southbound Jefferson Avenue today where Temecula and Murrieta meet.

The driver of a blue Yamaha GYT-R was going south on Jefferson around 2:13 p.m. when he smashed into a silver Mitsubishi Eclipse as it made a U-turn into southbound lanes in front of just north of Winchester Road, according to a sheriff's dispatcher.

The motorcycle rider flew over the car and lay in the street, screaming and holding his arm, witnesses said.

"I thought it was a fatality until he started screaming and yelling," said Ralph Bevente, a witness.

The motorcycle rider was rushed to Rancho Springs Medical Center, and the woman driving the Eclipse was rushed to Inland Valley Regional Medical Center, according to sheriff's Deputy Daniel Hoctor.

The man appeared to have serious injuries, said Gennaro Bevente, who saw him lying on the road. "He had blood all over his hands," Bevente said.

The Eclipse's passenger door was crushed, the window was shattered and the windshield was destroyed. The front end of the motorcycle was obliterated and investigators found pieces of it -- including parts of the body and the front torque -- in the Eclipse's cab.

Whether speeding was involved was unknown, and the cause of the crash was under investigation today, Hoctor said.