SOUTH COUNTY : Ortega Hwy. Crash Injures Motorcyclist

A 32-year-old motorcyclist was in critical condition Monday after his bike collided head-on with a tractor-trailer rig on Ortega Highway, the California Highway Patrol said.

John Doud of Garden Grove underwent surgery Monday evening after the 1:15 a.m. collision that broke his motorcycle in half, Orange County Fire Department Capt. Dan Young said. The truck driver, who was not identified, was not injured.

Doud was heading east on Ortega Highway, about 15 miles east of Interstate 5, when he apparently lost control and ran into the westbound truck, CHP Officer Kevin Livingston said.

The truck was carrying bags of cement, which spilled onto the road. At least one of the 100-pound bags struck the injured motorcyclist, who was wearing a helmet, witnesses and Fire Department officials said.

Ortega Highway was temporarily closed while a helicopter took Doud to Mission Hospital Regional Medical Center. Although the road was reopened about 30 minutes after the accident, workers were still cleaning cement off the highway Monday evening.