A crash that killed a motorcyclist on Interstate Highway 680 in Walnut Creek on Sunday may have occurred after the vehicles involved were racing one another, a California Highway Patrol officer said.

The motorcyclist, identified as Joseph Botsford, 31, of Walnut Creek, was killed in a collision involving three cars on northbound I-680, just south of Rudgear Road around 5:45 p.m., according to the CHP.

CHP Officer John Fransen said witnesses in the area reported that the motorcycle and two other vehicles, including a Nissan 350z, appear to
have been racing each other at speeds between 80 and 100 mph at the time of the collision.

The Nissan then lost control and crashed into an embankment off of the roadway, prompting the car to burst into flames, according to the CHP.

Botsford then rear-ended a Ford Mustang, was ejected from his motorcycle and struck the back of a Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck, Fransen
said.

The 31-year-old died from his injuries a short time later.

Anyone who may have witnessed the collision or the events leading up to it is asked to call the Contra Costa County CHP Office at 646-4980.

— Bay City News Service

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