The San Bernardino County coroner’s office has released the names of the two victims of fatal crashes in Yucca Valley this past weekend. Killed in a single vehicle motorcycle crash early Friday morning was Brandon Beauchamp, 23, a Marine corporal with 7th Marines who has been stationed at the Twentynine Palms Combat Center since August. About 3:30 Friday morning, Beauchamp was riding his Yamaha motorcycle eastbound on Highway 62 and missed the curve at Sage Avenue. His bike hit the curb and a dirt berm, and Beauchamp was thrown from his motorcycle and died.
On Saturday, Michael Faulkner, 72, of Costa Mesa, was the driver of a gray 2007 Nissan Versa SUV traveling northbound on Yucca Mesa Road when Megan Nemechek, 25, of Yucca Valley, who was driving a red Subaru Impreza southbound on Yucca Mesa, crossed the center line and hit Faulkner’s Nissan head on near the intersection with Douglas Drive about 12:40 p.m. Faulkner’s vehicle rolled over several times into the desert east of Yucca Mesa Road and he was killed in the crash. The passenger in Faulkner’s car, Jacob Faulkner, 40, of Landers, had to be extricated using the Jaws of Life by County firefighters. He was taken to Desert Regional Medical Center with moderate injuries. Megan Nemecheck’s 3-year-old child was not injured in the crash, but mother and child were both flown to Loma Linda Medical Center.
