Articles Posted in Motorcycle Accidents

Lucas Robert Reiss, 18, died in a motorcycle accident the afternoon of January 9, 2009 on the Ortega Highway in Lake Elsinore, according to a Orange County Register article. Reiss, a resident of San Juan Capistrano, was riding a 2007 Suzuki on the westbound lanes of the highway near El Cariso Village and 46-year-old Geoffrey Keesey was traveling eastbound in a 2004 Chevy truck. Keesey had crossed into the opposite side of the road to pass another eastbound and slower truck. Reiss had to swerve to avoid Keesey’s truck, steering the motorcycle to the right and hitting a metal guardrail.

California Highway Patrol officials said Keesey did not stop at the scene of the crash, but was located later that day with the help of some eyewitnesses. Reiss was transported to an area hospital where he died an hour after the collision. The crash is still under investigation. No arrests have been made or citations issued pending the investigation.

I offer my deepest condolences to the family of young Lucas Robert Reiss who died in this tragic motorcycle accident. Please keep them in your prayers.
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A 48-year-old Orange County woman is in critical condition after she was injured in a motorcycle accident in Buena Park on December 30, 2008. According to this news report in The Orange County Register, the woman, who has not been identified, was traveling south on Artesia Boulevard when she lost control of her motorcycle and crashed into the median. The female motorcyclist was wearing a helmet, but suffered severe injuries in this accident.

I’m extremely relieved that this motorcycle accident victim did not suffer fatal injuries in this crash. The newspaper report calls it a “near-fatal” accident. I wish this critically injured victim the very best for a quick and complete recovery.

According to the California Highway Patrol’s Statewide Integrated Traffic Reporting System (SWITRS), in Buena Park, there were no motorcycle accident related fatalities in 2006, but 32 injuries relating to motorcycle accidents. In Orange County as a whole, 26 deaths and 730 injuries were reported that year as a result of motorcycle accidents.
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Ralph Mongenel. 61, of Santa Ana, was killed in an Anaheim motorcycle accident on December 6 2008, The Orange County Register reports. Mongenel was riding south on Brookhurst Street under the 91 Freeway in Anaheim when he hit the center divider at the south side of the intersection. He was apparently trying to enter the freeway when he hit the divider. Mongenel was taken to an area hospital where he died shortly after.

I offer my deepest condolences to the family of Ralph Mongenel for their tragic loss. Please keep them in your prayers.
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Julian Adame, 19, of Orangevale suffered serious injuries in a Sacramento County motorcycle accident on October 29, 2008. Adame was riding his 2008 Honda CBR 600 motorcycle west on Main Avenue near Dredger Way in Orangevale. California Highway Patrol officials said that as Adame approached a right curve, his motorcycle veered into the opposite eastbound lane and crashed into a 1996 Toyota T100 pickup truck. Our source for this blog was this news report in the Sacramento Bee.

Adame’s motorcycle hit the pickup truck’s left front side. Adame was ejected from his motorcycle and thrown on to the windshield of the Toyota pickup. He was transported to an area hospital with major head injuries. CHP officials said Adame was wearing a full-face helmet and a padded racing jacket. The driver of the pickup truck, 46-year-old Kenny Nguyen of Elk Grove, has not yet been cited or arrested pending an investigation.

I’m glad that young Julian Adame survived this horrific 10/29/2008 motorcycle versus truck collision and is recovering from his injuries. I wish him the very best for a quick and complete recovery.
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A motorcyclist who was killed in an October 25, 2008 collision with a van in Santa Ana has been identified as 26-year-old Cuong Nguyen. According to a news report in The Orange County Register, Nguyen was killed in the 10/25/08 motorcycle accident, which occurred in the 5600 block of West McFadden Avenue in Santa Ana.

Santa Ana police officials said Cuong Nguyen hit the back of the van after weaving through traffic going east on McFadden. Nguyen fell off his motorcycle after the collision and was hit by another vehicle. Nguyen was pronounced dead at the scene.

I offer my condolences to the family of Cuong Nguyen, for their irreparable loss.
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The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has proposed new rules, which will make it harder for riders to use “novelty” helmets in states that require DOT-certified helmets. According to this news report, the new proposal will change the agency’s current motorcycle helmet safety standard to require manufacturers to place a larger, tamper-proof DOT label on the back of certified helmets. Officials say these new labels will make it harder for vendors to remove the labels from the approved helmets and affix them on the unsafe novelty helmets.

DOT recently conducted tests on these novelty helmets and found that they failed to meet current safety standards. The novelty helmets do not have the energy absorbing capacity to offer protection against head injuries in a highway crash. Motorcycle fatalities have been steadily increasing over the last decade and the most common cause of motorcycle accident related deaths is severe head injury.
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Jaime Juarez, 56, of Salinas, died in a Aug. 25 rear-end Monterey County motorcycle accident after his vehicle was hit by a delivery truck when he was stopped at a red light, the Monterey County Herald reports. The driver of the truck, Luciano Acevedo, 26, of Watsonville, was arrested on suspicion of felony hit-and-run. Acevedo allegedly fled the scene of the accident, but officers later caught up with him and Acevedo admitted that he was driving the delivery truck at the time of the accident.

Juarez suffered critical injuries when he was thrown from his Harley-Davidson. The impact threw Juarez about 25 feet into the intersection of North Sanborn Road and Acosta Plaza. Acevedo will likely face more charges because Juarez died.

I offer my deepest condolences to Jaime Juarez’s family. I find it despicable that Acevedo hit this motorcyclist, saw him get thrown off his vehicle and get seriously injured and didn’t even stay to get help or wait for officials to arrive.
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Los Angeles County fire Capt. John Ellis, 55, was killed in a motorcycle accident in Lancaster, according to a CBS News report. The fatal motorcycle accident occurred at 70th Street West and Avenue I Saturday night when the 42-year-old driver of a Chevrolet pickup truck pulled into the intersection in the path of the motorcycle, which then struck the pickup. Ellis was taken to a hospital in Antelope Valley where he was pronounced dead. All the occupants of the pickup truck were reportedly uninjured.

My deep condolences to the family of Capt. Ellis as well as his friends and co-workers in the Los Angeles County Fire Department.

There are few details about the motorcycle accident that have been released. According to the reports I read the pickup truck pulled into the path of Ellis at the intersection and he and his motorcycle struck the pickup Clearly it appears the driver of the Chevy pickup was at fault for failing to yield right of way to through traffic at that intersection. The driver probably just did not see the motorcycle approaching the intersection, which is common in these types of accidents.

According to research published by the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety, five crash types account for 86 percent of fatal motorcycle crashes: motorcycle runs off road (41 percent); motorcycle or other vehicle runs traffic control (18 percent); head-on collision(11 percent); vehicle turns in front of motorcycle (8 percent); and motorcycle goes down in roadway (7 percent).
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A Newport Coast motorcycle accident near Reef Point Drive killed a 34-year-old man last Sunday night, according to a news article in The Orange County Register.

Mario Frassetto of Mission Viejo was riding a 2000 Yamaha motorcycle southbound on the Pacific Coast Highway when he veered to the right and hit a guardrail, reportedly for unknown reasons according to the news article’s source, the California Highway Patrol (CHP). Officer Denise Quesada of the CHP reportedly said Frassetto was thrown off by the impact and died at the scene of the crash.

I offer my condolences to the Frassetto family and friends.

According to a study reported by the Insurance Institute For Highway Safety (), five crash types account for 86 percent of fatal motorcycle crashes: motorcycle runs off road (41 percent), motorcycle or other vehicle runs traffic control (18 percent), head on (11 percent), car turns in front of motorcycle (8 percent), and motorcycle goes down in roadway (7 percent) According to the CHP statistics, 26 people died and 730 were injured in motorcycle accidents in Orange County in 2006.
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A Riverside motorcycle intersection accident near Jurupa Avenue and Van Buren Boulevard killed its rider, according to a report posted on instantRiverside.com.

Rialto resident, Michael Martinez, 57, was in a 1999 Dodge Ram 2500 pick-up truck when he collided with Mira Loma motorcyclist Jeremy Sadach, 26. Sadach died shortly after at the Riverside Community Hospital. Martinez an employee of the City of Riverside’s Public Works Department was uninjured.

My heartfelt condolences to the Sadach family for their tragic loss.

Motorcycle accidents in Riverside County have caused 29 fatalities and 487 injuries in 2006. The 25-34 years-old age group represented the third largest age group for California motorcycle accident fatalities in 2006. This data is available at the California Highway Patrol’s Web site.
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