John Scheibe

john.scheibe@vcstar.com, 805-437-0270

Simi Valley police confirmed Tuesday that a man who was critically injured in a motorcycle stunt on Sunday is the same person who became well-known after jumping over a Riverside County freeway with a motorcycle in March.

Kyle Katsandris, 24, of San Clemente, was taken to Los Robles Hospital & Medical Center in Thousand Oaks in critical condition on Sunday, said Sgt. Travis Coffey, a spokesman for the Simi Valley Police Department.

Coffey said police received no advance notice that Katsandris planned to jump across some railroad tracks in Simi Valley on Sunday. Police were told that the stunt — along the 500 block of West Los Angeles Avenue — went wrong at 3:06 p.m.

Coffey said the accident happened on private property. He also said police were not planning to do any follow-up work on the incident, noting that "the incident did not constitute a reportable traffic accident."

"No charges will be brought" against anyone, Coffey said.

On Wednesday, Coffey said that while there are currently no charges against Katsandris at this time "he could be charged later."

Katsandris traveled to Simi with friends to record the stunt after learning of the location through social media, authorities said. The stunt involved jumping across railroad tracks.

Coffey said police learned of the stunt after paramedics were called to the site.

A video of Katsandris jumping across four lanes of Highway 60 in Moreno Valley in March was placed on his Instagram account. Another video was posted on YouTube. The videos have been viewed hundreds of thousands of times.

Darren Meyer, a California Highway Patrol officer in Beaumont, said CHP learned of the Highway 60 jump after seeing a post of it on Instagram, a photo- and video-sharing site.

"Our first concern was that no one would copycat the stunt," Meyer said. Caltrans placed heavy equipment on a road in the area to stop other daredevils from jumping there, he said.

"We also let the public know that this is a misdemeanor," Meyer said.

He also said that investigators are still looking at filing misdemeanor charges in connection with the Highway 60 jump.

"We have a year in which to file them with the district attorney," Meyer said, noting that investigators plan to interview Katsandris once he recovers from the injuries he suffered Sunday.

"If we can put together a solid case, we will certainly do it," Meyer said.

Meanwhile, Mike Vasquez, a deputy with the Riverside County Sheriff's Office, said his agency is not investigating the jump in Moreno Valley.

"This is something the CHP is doing," he said.