Modesto motorcyclist killed when struck by allegedly impaired driver in Tesla
A 58-year-old Modesto man was killed over the weekend when his motorcycle was hit by an allegedly impaired driver south of Farmington.
The collision occurred on Escalon-Bellota Road, north of Gawne Road in San Joaquin County, just after 3 p.m. Sunday, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The motorcyclist was riding south on Escalon-Bellota when a Tesla traveling north swerved into his lane. The vehicles crashed head-on and the motorcycle rider was ejected. He died at the scene.
An official from the San Joaquin County Medical Examiner’s Office had not returned a call Wednesday regarding the identity of the rider. But a GoFundMe page for his funeral expenses identified him as Mike Vargas Sr.
“He was an amazing father and grandfather and his absence in the lives of his loved ones is immeasurable,” reads a post on the page.
According to a press release from the CHP, drugs and alcohol are believed to be factors in the crash. The driver of the Tesla, a 35-year-old San Francisco man, was treated for minor injuries before being booked into jail.
Officer Ruben Jones, a spokesperson for the Stockton area CHP, did not know the name of the driver or his charges.
