MOTORCYCLE CRASH ON THE MORONGO GRADE SATURDAY NIGHT KILLS TWO

A motorcyclist and his passenger are dead after a crash coming up the Morongo grade Saturday night. The CHP said the motorcyclist lost control and collided with a vehicle on highway 62 shortly after 7:30 p.m. Responding emergency personnel found the 48-year-old female passenger dead at the scene, the rider, a 62-year-old man, was taken to Desert Regional Medical Center, where he died of his injuries shortly after. Neither of the victims has been identified. The crash occurred just up the grade from Indian Canyon Drive, according to the Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department. Traffic waited up to three hours while emergency response crews cleared debris and the CHP investigated. Traffic was backed up all the way down the grade and on State Route 62 almost to I-0; traffic on Indian Canyon was backed up for about 2 miles. The California Highway Patrol could not be reached for additional details on Sunday.