Motorcycle rider killed in accident on Highway 152 in Merced County, CHP says
A motorcycle rider was killed Tuesday in an accident along Highway 152 west of Los Banos in Merced County, according to the California Highway Patrol.
At about 4:32 p.m., Los Banos area CHP officers responded to a solo motorcycle accident in the area of eastbound Highway 152, east of the Romero Visitor Center, according to authorities.
The CHP said a 71-year-old man was riding a 2005 Yamaha motorcycle in the No. 1 eastbound lane of Highway 152 and traveling at a speed of about 70 mph. When the rider attempted to negotiate a curve in the roadway, the motorcycle left the north edge of the road and lurched into a dirt and gravel median, where it struck a guardrail.
The rider was wearing a helmet at the time of the accident but suffered fatal injures and was pronounced dead at the scene, according to a CHP news release. Authorities withheld the man’s name pending notification of next of kin.
According to the CHP, neither drugs nor alcohol appear to be a factor in the crash.
