A driver making an illegal U-turn on a Palm Springs roadway fatally struck a paramedic riding his motorcycle on his way home, officials said Wednesday.
Edward Lustro, a 34-year-old Rancho Mirage resident, had just finished a 12-hour shift when the crash happened on the Gene Autry Trail north of Seven Lakes Drive around 8:30 a.m. Monday, Lt. William Hutchinson with Palm Springs police said.
The other motorist, only identified as a 54-year-old Palm Springs man who was driving a Honda, stayed at the scene and cooperated with detectives after the incident, according to police.
Drugs or alcohol did not appear to play a role in the crash, authorities said.
Lustro was traveling left of the Honda driver when the latter, who had been heading in the same direction, made an illegal U-turn, police said. The two vehicles collided.
The 34-year-old died at the scene, according to the Riverside County Sheriff-Coroner.
Officials shut down the roadway for six hours Monday during the investigation of the collision, The Desert Sun reported.
A procession of paramedics followed as Lustro’s body was transported away from the scene, the paper said.
Lustro started working with American Medical Response in 2016, serving as a field training officer, company General Manager Douglas Key told KTLA.
“We currently have peer support and grief support specialists on site supporting our caregivers and helping them deal with this tragedy,” Key wrote in an email. “The EMS community is a tight knit family and all of his colleagues are taking this hard.”
AMR has received an outpour of support from its fire and law enforcement partners, as well as the community, Key added.