Motorcycle Police Officer Injured in Hit-and-Run Crash

The retired SDPD officer was escorting a funeral at the time of the crash

A retired San Diego police officer escorting a funeral was injured when a vehicle struck his motorcycle in Mountain View Monday.

The motorcycle ended upside down on the corner of South 45th Street and Imperial Avenue just west of Interstate 805 just before 1 p.m.

The officer, identified by his family as Gary Morris, had been blocking an intersection to allow the funeral procession to go through when he jumped on his motorcycle and began making a U-turn to catch up.

"Out of nowhere a car rammed into him from behind," said Jesse Ortega. "We could hear the screech from the brakes but it wasn't enough. He hit him almost at full speed."

The motorcycle and Morris both flew into the air about 20 feet or so, Ortega said.

"It wasn't a good sight to see. It was horrible,"  he said.

The collision happened right in front of Fred Eslinger.  He said Morris landed on his back.

The officer was said to be talking to emergency personnel as he was helped onto a gurney and transported to Sharp Memorial Hospital. 

"He was badly bruised. He looked like he was in shock pretty good," Eslinger said who added the officer was lucky to be alive after such a bad crash.

The sedan didn't make any attempt to stop and almost drove into other vehicles as he sped away from the scene, Ortega said. 

San Diego police found a vehicle approximately one block away on West Street.

The driver has not been found.

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