UPDATE: Woman Killed in Hwy 79 Motorcycle Crash

Editor's note:  The woman involved in this crash has been identified.  Story here.  Original story as follows.

A woman has been killed and her fiance injured in a motorcycle crash on Highway 79 near Gilman Hot Springs, officials said Monday.

The two, who were riding on the same bike headed northbound around 2 p.m., somehow lost control of the motorcycle and slide to a stop on the busy roadway, CHP Officer Darren Meyer said at the scene.

The unidentified 48-year-old woman, of Hemet, was thrown from the bike when it slide out of control, Meyer said.  

Her fiance, 69-year-old Thomas Donohoe, also of Hemet, remained on the motorcycle until it eventually crashed into the center divider-- about 200 feet from where they initially lost control, according to Meyer.

The woman was not wearing a Department of Transportation approved safety helmet, rather a "novelty" helmet which fell off during impact, Meyer said.

"The novelty helmet failed in the collision and significantly contributed to her death," Meyer said.

Donohoe managed to escape serious injury, but was taken to a local hospital to be treated for some minor scrapes.  He was wearing an approved helmet, according to the officer.

However, he was not supposed to be carrying anyone on the back of his bike, as he did not have the proper permits to do so.

"Donohoe held only an instructional permit to ride motorcycles which prohibits him from carrying passengers," Meyer said.

Both lanes of northbound traffic were blocked in the area, beginning at Gilman Springs Road.  A sig alert was issued at 2:17 p.m., but was cleared by 4:30 p.m., when all lanes of traffic were back open.

The crash happened about one mile north of Gilman Springs Road.

If anyone happened to witness the crash or has more details about the investigation, contact CHP Officer Adrian Horta at 951-769-2000.