The Riverside County Coroner’s office has released the name of a motorcyclist who died following a crash Thursday afternoon, December 28, 2017. Donnie Ray Howard Sr., 77, of Desert Hot Springs was riding southbound on Highway 62, south of Mission Creek Road, when a blue Dodge pick-up truck hit the bike about 2:30 p.m. Thursday. Southbound lanes were closed for hours from Indian Canyon to Pierson during the investigation, and traffic was diverted on to Indian Canyon around the scene of the crash. Traffic was backed up from Indian Canyon to East Drive in Morongo Valley. Donny Ray Howard Sr. was taken to Desert Hospital and was pronounced dead almost 7 hours later, at 9:10 pm.
