Two motorcycle fatalities during the holiday weekend dampened
what was a very busy Hollister Independence Rally for local law
enforcement.
Two motorcycle fatalities during the holiday weekend dampened what was a very busy Hollister Independence Rally for local law enforcement.
Things turned deadly Friday when a 48-year-old Salinas man who attended the rally was killed in an accident on Fairview Road near the intersection of Spring Grove Road, the California Highway Patrol said.
The 4:25 p.m. accident happened when the unidentified man was driving a 2002 Harley-Davidson motorcycle southbound on Fairview Road at an unknown rate of speed, the CHP said.
As the cyclist approached the Spring Grove Road intersection, a 1987 Dodge Ram Van driven by Robert Orbuena, 41, of Gilroy made a left turn directly in front of the Salinas man, the CHP said.
Orbuena told officers that he could see the motorcycle. The motorcyclist slammed on his brakes in an attempt to avoid the Dodge, but skidded forward and struck the side of the van, the CHP said.
The cyclist, whose name was not available by press time, sustained severe head and body injuries in the collision and was taken by ambulance to Hazel Hawkins Hospital where, despite life-saving efforts, he later died from his injuries, the CHP said.
Orbuena was arrested on suspicion of gross vehicular manslaughter, felony driving under the influence and being under the influence of a controlled substance. He is currently being held at the San Benito County Jail.
A Sacramento motorcyclist was killed Saturday night on Highway 152 in a head-on accident just west of mile marker 159, the CHP said.
Guadalupe Palafox-Banderas, 50, was pronounced dead at the 10:30 p.m. accident, the Santa Clara County Coroner’s Office said Sunday.
Details of the accident were not available by press time.
As more motorcycles roared out of town on Sunday, at about 3:35 p.m., CHP officers were called out to a major injury accident on Highway 152 reportedly involving a motorcyclist who sustained a severe head and hand injury and had to be transported to San Jose Medical Center, the CHP said.
Details of the crash will be available later today.
In addition to the accidents, the CHP also saw an increase in drunken driving arrests with a total of 26 arrests between 6:01 p.m. Thursday and 6 a.m. Sunday, with more arrests expected later that day. This is compared to 16 arrests for the entire 2002 rally.
Arrests nearly doubled in the downtown area, the heart of the rally, according to Hollister Police Department statistics. Between 6 a.m. Friday and 6 a.m. Sunday, police made 148 arrests.
“That’s just in the downtown area. That doesn’t take into account the regular patrol arrests or arrests in the county,” said Capt. Bob Brooks.
There were approximately 70 arrests county-wide during the entire 2002 rally, according to police statistics.
The 148 arrests, which included apprehending a runaway, do not include arrests made on Sunday.
Brooks said the reason for the increased arrests is unclear, but the types of arrests largely remained the same compared to last year’s rally.
He said, other than a few fistfights, including one that took place outside a local bar, and a few people being arrested for carrying a concealed weapon, most of the rally was peaceful with citations for various incidents ranging from possession of alcohol to exhibition of speed.
More information on local crime is expected to be released today.
