Ledger-Dispatch

By Raheem Hosseini (editor@ledger-dispatch.com= )=20

Area firefighters doused the flames = that resulted=20 from a fatal head-on collision Saturday afternoon on Highway 16 = east of=20 Latrobe Road.

Photo by: Bill Lavallie

Both drivers were killed in a head-on = collision=20 that occurred Saturday near the Amador-Sacramento county = line.

Photo by: Bill = Lavallie
A=20 series of major injury accidents, including a fatal head-on collision = Saturday=20 afternoon, battered area roadways during the weekend and cast a = spotlight on=20 motorcycle safety.

"We had quite a few motorcycle crashes, even = with it=20 being Motorcycle Safety Month," said Officer Jaime Castillo of the = California=20 Highway Patrol unit in San Andreas.

Many involved riders from = outside the=20 area and alcohol, Castillo added, saying, "That's a deadly combination = right=20 there."

Holiday weekends like Mother's Day and Memorial Day and = this past=20 weekend's Calaveras County Fair typically bring waves of motorcyclists = to the=20 area, Castillo noted, and many aren't used to the narrow shoulders and = lack of=20 passing lanes. "Hey, our roads are pretty unforgiving," he added. = "Luckily, we=20 didn't have any casualties."

The same couldn't be said in Amador = County,=20 where two drivers died in the head-on collision Saturday afternoon on = Highway 16=20 east of Latrobe Road. According to CHP officials at the scene, a green = 1993=20 Dodge van headed west pulled into the eastbound lane and collided = directly with=20 a green 1993 Ford sedan. The impact was so severe that both vehicles = burst into=20 flames, which area firefighters were able to quickly extinguish, easing = concerns=20 that it would spread to the wild grasslands buffering the=20 roads.

Witnesses told investigators the driver of the van, = 41-year-old=20 Hiram Rodas of Elk Grove, seemed to be driving in an "erratic" manner. = CHP will=20 have to wait for toxicology reports to make a final determination = whether=20 alcohol or drugs were involved, but Officer Craig Harmon of the Amador = County=20 CHP unit said the accident likely resulted from the van attempting an = unsafe=20 pass. Killed in the accident were Rodas and Amanda Cole, an 18-year-old = resident=20 of Plymouth. "Local gal," Harmon said. "It's a shame."

That = wasn't the=20 only serious head-on crash Saturday. Around the same time, a vehicle = pursuit=20 ended with a serious collision on Highway 26 east of Gold Creek Drive = and an=20 arrest. Tiffany Gonzales of Lodi was being pursued by Calaveras County = sheriff's=20 officers for a traffic violation. She gunned her 1997 Chevrolet into the = eastbound lane of the highway and slammed into a 1992 Honda driven by=20 69-year-old Georgia Harris of Valley Springs. The impact spun both = vehicles=20 around, with Gonzales' Chevy coming to a stop on a dirt embankment. She = tried to=20 run on foot, but was apprehended in a nearby backyard. According to the = CHP,=20 Gonzales was taken to Modesto Memorial Hospital with major injuries. Her = passenger, Michael Sauve of Lodi, 20, was taken to Mark Twain St. = Joseph's=20 Hospital with minor injuries. Harris suffered moderate injuries and was=20 transported to Doctors Hospital in Modesto.

Among the spate of = dangerous=20 motorcycle crashes was one involving a Folsom woman who was thrown from = her 2006=20 Harley Davidson Ultra Classic as she entered Drytown Saturday night. The = CHP=20 believe the accident occurred when 54-year-old Alice Huerta's brakes = locked on=20 Highway 49, causing the bike to slide and topple over. Huerta was flown = to Mercy=20 San Juan Hospital with major injuries. A San Jose man was airlifted to = Doctors=20 Modesto with major injuries and road rash later that day after being = ejected=20 from his 2007 Harley Davidson motorcycle on Parrots Ferry Road south of = Moaning=20 Cave Road in Calaveras County. Tony Lopez, 52, lost control of his bike = while=20 going approximately 55 mph, according to the CHP. The motorcycle toppled = onto=20 its side and slid.

A 12-year-old Martinez boy was injured when he = lost=20 control of a 1988 Honda quad Saturday around 1:20 p.m. He was going = through the=20 intersection at Shetland Court and Dunn Lane at a high rate of speed = when he=20 began sliding sideways and overturned off the east road edge. Rider and = vehicle=20 overturned multiple times before coming to rest. Though the boy was = wearing a=20 helmet, the right brake handle became embedded in his lower right arm. = He was=20 moved to a residence and treated until paramedics = arrived.

Saturday=20 night, a motorcycle carrying two passengers skidded into a guard rail on = Murphys=20 Grade Road west of Murphys. Both passengers were ejected into the guard = rail,=20 resulting in moderate injuries. The driver of the 2008 Harley Davidson, = Kyle=20 Volkand of Manteca, was arrested for driving under the influence and may = face=20 felony charges for injuring his passenger, Geraldine Turk of=20 Stockton.

There were also two area motorcycle accidents on = Sunday, one of=20 them resulting in a broken arm for a San Jose man in Calaveras County. = Chad=20 Olocki, 26, was riding his 2004 Yamaha on a dirt road through the = Stanislaus=20 National Forest east of Sheep Ranch. Because of his level of = intoxication,=20 Olocki allowed his handlebars to get tangled with another motorcycle, = causing=20 him to lose control and slam into a tree. Olocki was taken to Mark Twain = St.=20 Joseph's Hospital by friends.

The other accident occurred later = that=20 afternoon, when 54-year-old Kevin Clark of Fremont drifted too close to = a fellow=20 rider on Highway 88 at Pine Grove Volcano Road in Amador County. Clark = hit his=20 brakes, losing control and tumbling to the asphalt. He was taken to = Sutter=20 Amador Hospital with minor cuts and abrasions.

A Redwood City man = had to=20 be airlifted to a trauma center after being ejected into a wire fence = Friday=20 night in Calaveras County. The CHP reported that Edmund Prosch, 45, was = unable=20 to navigate a curve on Highway 4 in Vallecito and ran off the road in = his 2000=20 Harley Davidson. It is suspected Prosch was intoxicated at the time of = the=20 accident and may face criminal charges.

Bill Lavallie = contributed to=20 this report.

Raheem = Hosseini