NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – The California Highway Patrol is urging motorcyclists to use extra caution following a spike in crashes in Napa County over the past week.
The CHP's Napa Area office reported that there were three major injury motorcycle crashes in less than an hour last Sunday, May 24. None of the riders or the occupants were from Napa.
The first collision occurred on southbound Highway 29 at Highway 221 just before 4 p.m. The CHP said the rider of the motorcycle, 60-year-old Michael Frates of San Ramon, failed to stop in time behind another vehicle that had stopped for the red light at the intersection.
Frates and his passenger, 54-year-old Carla Frates, were ejected onto the roadway and suffered major non-life threatening injuries, the CHP said.
The CHP reported that the second collision occurred southbound Monticello Road approximately 1.3 miles south of Circle Oaks at 4:35 p.m.
The rider, 59-year-old Jon Spiegel of Vacaville, was unable to negotiate the curve in the roadway and went down, the CHP said.
Spiegel sustained major non-life threatening injuries and the passenger, 59-year-old Connie Kabeary of San Pablo, sustained minor injuries, according to the CHP.
The third Sunday collision occurred westbound Highway 128 approximately 1 mile east of Pope Valley Road at 4:40 p.m. and involved just the motorcyclist, 49-year-old Gail Smith of El Sobrante. The CHP said he suffered major non-life threatening injury.
Then, on Friday at about 2 p.m., 42-year-old Julia Larson of Woodland sustained major injuries in a crash on Butts Canyon Road south of Snell Valley Road when she allowed her motorcycle to go off the roadway edge, according to the CHP.
When Larson attempted to steer back onto the roadway, she was thrown from the motorcycle and hit the pavement, the CHP said.
On Saturday, 44-year-old Manolo Olaso of Sacramento was injured in a crash that the CHP said took place at 7:45 a.m. on Highway 128 approximately 2.9 miles east of Wragg Canyon Road.
The CHP said he was riding westbound at approximately 60 miles per hour when he allowed his motorcycle to go off the roadway, with the bike continuing onto the dirt shoulder, hitting a three.
Olaso was thrown from the motorcycle and suffered major injuries, the CHP said.
As the weather warms, the CHP said there will be a noticeable increase in the number of motorcyclists traveling Napa County roadways. Some will be from the 3,500 motorcycles registered in Napa County, but others will travel from surrounding areas.
“Many motorcyclists will traverse the unincorporated roadways enjoying the scenery and driving safely. There will be some, however, who are inexperienced, inattentive, and who purposely disregard safety by excessively speeding, passing over double yellow lines and driving recklessly,” the CHP said in a statement.
To prepare for this influx of motorcycle traffic, the CHP has dedicated an officer to patrol the roadways near the Lake Berryessa area.
Several enforcement operations are also planned throughout the summer with a specific emphasize on motorcyclist riding safely and vehicles properly sharing the road when traveling with motorcycles.
“The purpose of enforcement operations is to ensure compliance of safe driving habits,” said Capt. Chris Childs, commander of the Napa Area office. “We know the tragedy of what can happen and we want to prevent that from occurring.”
REGIONAL: Napa County officials report on rash of motorcycle crashes
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