A San Jose man died from a massive head trauma after he was
thrown from his motorcycle in southern San Benito County Saturday,
the coroner’s Office said Monday.
A San Jose man died from a massive head trauma after he was thrown from his motorcycle in southern San Benito County Saturday, the coroner’s Office said Monday.
Martin Dykier, 27, a successful computer software engineer, was pronounced dead at 12:26 p.m. Saturday at the scene of the accident on Airline Highway near mile post No. 17, a coroner’s investigator said.
An autopsy performed Monday confirmed the cause of death was a severe head injury, investigators said.
Dykier was reportedly wearing a helmet at the time of the crash.
Crash investigators with the California Highway Patrol said the accident happened at about 11:15 a.m. when Dykier was southbound on Airline Highway riding a 2002 Yamaha R-6 at an unknown rate of speed.
As Dykier approached mile post No. 17, he reportedly overtook a 1996 Ford F-250 pickup truck driven by a 48-year-old Modesto man, whose name was not released.
Dykier’s motorcycle clipped the rear of the pickup as he attempted to pass, the CHP said, causing him to lose control of the motorcycle. He was ejected from the motorcycle and struck his head, the CHP said.
The accident is still under investigation by the CHP. However, investigators said there was no indication that either alcohol or drugs were involved.
Lt. Michael Covell with the San Benito County Sheriff-Coroner’s Office said although the accident was tragic, it is not unusual.
“In the southern part of the county, motorcycle crashes are common, although most of them are not fatal,” Covell said.
Part of the problem is that the stretch of Highway 25, known locally as Airline Highway, is a scenic rural roadway that attracts many motorcycle riders.
“It’s a windy road and it’s fun to ride a motorcycle on,” Covell said.
Some of the most serious motorcycle accidents during the past few years have been caused by riders trying to attain a dangerous kind of status known as the “100 Mile an Hour Club,” Covell said.
“It’s been written about in a lot of motorcycle magazines,” he said.
Riders enter the “club” by riding from Hollister to King City on Airline Highway at an average speed of 100 mph.
“We do not know if this is what happened in the crash that killed Mr. Dykier,” Covell said.
