A 27-year-old woman died after crashing her motorcycle and being struck by several vehicles on the Costa Mesa Freeway (55) in Santa Ana late Sunday.
The crash happened about 11:53 p.m. on the freeway's southbound lanes just north of Dyer Road, according to a California Highway Patrol statement.
The motorcyclist was riding on a 1978 Honda "at a high rate of speed" as she "rapidly approached" a dark-colored van, the CHP statement said.
She tried to change lanes and pass it on the left. But the van moved a lane to the left at the same time, causing the motorcyclist to swerve.
The motorcyclist was going too fast to get out of the way safely, the statement said. She fell from the motorcycle into the path of oncoming traffic. Several vehicles struck her and the motorcycle.
