Driver, Passenger Die in Santiago Canyon Motorcycle Crash

Two people are dead after the motorcycle they were riding north on Santiago Canyon Road crashed Sunday evening, authorities say.

The driver has been identified as 58-year-old Donn Lavigne of Anaheim Hills. His female passenger, who was also killed, has not yet been identified.

For unknown reasons, the motorcycle veered off the pavement north of Williams Canyon Road at about 7 p.m., diving down a dirt embankment and smashing into some trees, according to California Highway Patrol Officer Denise Quesada.

Lavigne died at the scene, Quesada said.

The stretch of Santiago Canyon Road where the deadly crash occured is directly north of Lake Forest, in an unincorporated area of Orange County.

In early July, another crash on Santiago Canyon Road sent a 17-year-old . He and his passenger, another 17-year-old from Lake Forest, were heading south on the roadway shortly after 1 a.m. when the driver lost control and crashed into an electrical pole near Ridgeline Road.

-City News Service contributed to this report.