Two motorcycle police officers — one with Garden Grove’s department, the other with Long Beach’s — were injured in separate crashes on the eastbound 22 Freeway in Garden Grove within an hour of each other and about two miles apart on Tuesday afternoon, Dec. 16, authorities said.
Both officers were hospitalized for moderate injuries, said Officer Duane Graham, a California Highway Patrol spokesman.
About 4 p.m., the CHP began receiving calls about a crash in the left lane next to the carpool lane near Euclid Street involving an Acura sedan and a motorcycle, Graham said.
“As of now, it appears they were both in the No. 1 lane with the motorcycle approaching traffic that was slowing or stopped,” Graham said. “At this point, we don’t know why, but the on-duty (motorcycle officer) collided with the rear of the Acura.”
The motorcycle had major damage and the Acura suffered moderate damage to the trunk, rear bumper and rear windshield.
Mikayla Maramba, the Acura’s driver, told OnScene.TV, a freelance news organization that sometimes works with the Southern California News Group, that she was slowing down because of the traffic ahead.
“I saw him going from the carpool lane into my lane and then he just like crashed into me,” Maramba said. “I didn’t see how fast he was going, but he went pretty fast right behind me.
“I just pulled over to the side, and I just made sure he was OK,” she continued.
While the CHP was investigating that crash, it began receiving calls of another crash on the 22 Freeway near Magnolia Avenue involving four vehicles, including a Toyota Camry and a Long Beach motorcycle officer, Graham said.
In that collision, the spokesman said, it appeared the officer was riding between the carpool lane and the left lane when the Camry attempted to make a lane change to the left in front of him.
It was not known whether the Long Beach officer was on duty.
“The major portion of the collision was the Camry impacting the motorcycle officer and motorcycle,” Graham said.
The motorcycle was moderately damaged in that collision, Graham said.
The CHP was investigating both crashes, but investigators did not believe drugs or alcohol were factors in either collision, Graham said.