(Update, 10:35 p.m.) - A motorcyclist is dead and another driver is in custody following an accident near Nipomo Tuesday afternoon.
Officers identified the motorcyclist as 37-year-old Nipomo resident Levi Lopez.
Lopez was wearing safety gear at the time of the crash.
The driver who attempted to flee the scene and was subsequently arrested has been identified as 36-year-old Genaro Cortez Beltran of Bakersfield.
Drugs or alcohol are not suspected to be a factor in the accident.
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(Original, 6:25 p.m.) - A motorcyclist was killed in a crash near Nipomo on Tuesday afternoon.
It happened at about 4:15 p.m. in the area of Hutton Road and Joshua Street.
According to the California Highway Patrol, a Nissan pickup was headed southbound on Hutton Road when the driver made a U-turn directly in front of a Harley-Davidson motorcycle that was traveling northbound.
The motorcycle struck the passenger side of the truck and the rider was ejected.
Officers say the occupants of the truck ran from the scene after the crash but were quickly apprehended by an off-duty CHP officer.
The motorcyclist died at the scene. His name has not yet been released.
