California Injury Blog
San Francisco Bay Area officials are looking for a hit-and-run driver believed to have fatally struck a 52-year-old motorcyclist Monday morning on the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, according to a news report by Bay City News Service posted on the San Jose Mercury News’ Web Site.
The suspect’s car was found abandoned later that morning in a toll plaza parking lot, but authorities haven’t found the driver, according to the report.
Timothy Haagensen, a Concord resident, was killed around 5 a.m. as he was riding his 2000 Harley Davidson motorcycle in a left-side lane of westbound Interstate 80 just east of the toll plaza. California Highway Patrol officials said a witness saw a black 1990 four-door Honda ahead of Haagensen make an unsafe lane change into Haagensen’s lane, which caused the front end of Haagensen’s 2000 Harley Davidson to strike the Honda’s driver’s side door and Haagensen to lose control of his bike and get thrown about 100 yards east of the toll booths. The driver did not stop after hitting the motorcyclist, officials said.
The CHP has since matched a mirror, trim pieces and paint chips found near the crash site to the Honda and have found items inside the car that investigators hope will lead them to the driver, according to the article. The Honda, which is registered in California, has been impounded and investigators are in the process of contacting witnesses and establishing who owned the car.
If this news story is accurate, this hit-and-run driver deserves every penalty the law provides. At a minimum he was involved in an auto vs. motorcycle accident, he had to know the motorcyclist went down hard and he drove off and left him to die.
A hit-and-run driver can get five years in prison plus loss of license and fines, whether they were at fault for the accident or not.
If you or a loved one has been involved in accident and require assistance, call Bisnar Chase Personal Injury Attorneys today for a free consultation – 1-800-259-6373.