5 Killed in Motorcycle Accident

legalmania

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This is a horrific accident. It must have been awful for the others to witness this.

I was one of the first emergency officials on the scene. Of my 23 years on the department, it was the most devastating scene I've been to, and I've seen a lot of fatal accidents," said Deeann Goudie, a spokeswoman for the California Highway Patrol.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/11/14/california.motorcyle.accident/index.html?hpt=T2
 
By Elliot Spagat Associated Press
Posted: 11/14/2010 11:54:08 AM PST
Updated: 11/14/2010 11:54:15 AM PST



SAN DIEGO -- A man was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence after he slammed his car head-on into a group of motorcycle riders celebrating their club's 10th anniversary, killing four motorcyclists and his companion, authorities said Sunday.
The driver, Carlos Rodriguez Bobadilla, was among six people injured in Saturday's crash on a remote desert highway, said California Highway Patrol Officer DeeAnn Goudie. Rodriguez, 36, was recovering from hand fractures at a San Diego hospital.
The arrest was made when officers smelled alcohol on his breath about five hours after the crash, Goudie said. Results of a blood test were pending.
It is unclear if the driver's alleged alcohol consumption contributed to the collision, Goudie said, but he was arrested on a misdemeanor and is not being held responsible for the deaths based on evidence collected so far. Authorities are looking for the driver of a gold Honda Civic who forced Rodriguez off the road when trying to pass the motorcyclists on the undivided two-lane highway east of San Diego.
Rodriguez, of Mexicali, Mexico, swerved his white Dodge Avenger to the right shoulder to avoid the Honda and then overcompensated by swinging left into oncoming traffic, Goudie said. Rodriguez's speedometer was found stuck at 60 mph, 5 mph below the speed limit. <snip>
The CHP withheld the names of the five who died, pending notification of next of kin. They included a husband and wife who were on a motorcycle that was first to be struck.
A man who was driving a motorcycle behind the couple was struck next and died, Goudie said.
Rodriguez turned and hit a third motorcycle, killing a woman who was riding on the back and injuring her husband, Wilson Trayer, 39, of Lakeside, Goudie said.
Trayer's daughter, Sierra, said her father has been on a life support and was in surgery. He broke his pelvis, ribs, back and jaw.
Trayer's motorcycle sliced 18 inches into the front passenger door of the Dodge that Rodriguez was driving, killing Rodriguez's companion, a 31-year-old Mexicali woman who owned the car, Goudie said.
One of the injured -- John Philip Lombardo, 55, of Lakeside, whose leg was hit by an ejected motorcyclist -- has been released from the hospital, Goudie said.
Goudie didn't know the condition or prognosis of the others. They include William Barnes of San Diego, who suffered a broken hip, and his wife, Melanie Barnes, who broke her pelvis.

http://www.contracostatimes.com/news/ci_16611775
 

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