The Los Angeles County Coroner's Office Wednesday identified the motorcyclist in Tuesday's fatal accident with a Santa Monica city bus on Sunset Boulevard in Pacific Palisades.
Patrick Chilton O'Dell, 25, of Van Nuys, was riding a 2008 Honda motorcycle westbound on Sunset Boulevard when it collided with a Big Blue Bus negotiating a left turn from southbound Marquez Ave to eastbound Sunset Boulevard. Assistant Chief Ed Winter at the coroner's office said an autopsy and investigation are pending.
Investigators in the West Traffic Division of the Los Angeles Police Department say speed was the main factor in the accident, and witnesses say O'Dell ran a red light prior to the accident.
"We're looking at everything," said Officer Darryl Jacobs on Wednesday, saying they are looking at statements provided by the bus driver.
"The bus company has their investigator too," Jacobs added.
Marquez Avenue splits into two lanes east and westbound for vehicles coming onto Sunset Boulevard, with buses allowed to make left hand turns from the stop sign on the westbound Marquez Avenue turn.
Jacobs said he's not sure why buses are instructed to go to that westbound stop sign rather than the eastbound traffic signal.
"It's been like that for quite some time," he said about the bus route.
He also noted incidents like this are rare, especially a fatality between a bus and a motorcycle.
