California

SoCal Motorcyclist Who Jumped Over Freeway Hurt in Another Stunt

The first stunt was viewed hundreds of thousands of times on social media.

A motorcyclist who drew social media attention across Southern California and prompted an investigation by the California Highway Patrol was critically hurt in another dangerous stunt.

The first stunt captured on video March 3 showed the 24-year-old San Clemente motorcyclist jumping over the 60 Freeway as cars passed underneath him. 

He was identified by a friend as Kyle Katsandris. Simi Valley police have not yet confirmed his identity to NBC4. 

The wild stunt video was viewed hundreds of thousands of times, and prompted an investigation by the California Highway Patrol.

"We hope to never see this again," said Caltrans spokeswoman Terri Kasinga at the time of the first incident. "It was illegal and dangerous to motorists. It could have been a tragedy."

But authorities did see it again, as Simi Valley police reported Monday. 

Sunday a motorcyclist crashed in the 500 block of W. Los Angeles Avenue while attempting a planned off-road stunt, police said. 

The rider went flying over a steep hill, lunched into the air, and crash-landed on the other side.

"He called me last week, asking me about this jump. And I told him, 'Uh ...you know, it's big,'" his friend Colin Morrison said.

The rider was critically injured when he hit a bump at the top of the first hill, Morrison said. 

Ten years ago, Morrison said he was one of the very few to nail the Los Angeles Avenue jump, which sends the rider flying over railroad tracks.

He said he did it three times - twice over a moving train.

There are now numerous "get well" tributes on Katsandris' Instagram account after the dangerous jump.

Colin's father, John Morrison, questioned all of the risky jumps.

"I told Colin just a little while ago -- I said, 'What if Kyle dies? Was it worth it?' And Colin says, "Yeah, I think it was. Look at how cool it is,'" John said.

When the first jump happened, and the video began getting hundreds of thousands of views on social media, Caltrans officials said they blocked access to the makeshift dirt ramps in Riverside in order to prevent would-be copycats.

It wasn't clear what action authorities would take in the secondary incident. 

The first jump broke a few misdemeanor laws, including trespassing on state property, and was reckless endangerment while operating a motorized vehicle, due to the fact that the rider jumped over a freeway, CHP told NBC4 Southern California.

Gordon Tokumatsu contributed to this report.

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