An Oceanside motorcyclist is dead after a pickup truck driver allegedly made an illegal turn into the path of the bike on Saturday, Feb. 8.
The motorcyclist, Timothy James Bauer, 54, traveled westbound on Oceanside Boulevard at about 1:45 p.m. on Saturday when Ronald Estes, 64, pulled out of El Corazon Compost Facility in a Ford pickup truck pulling a 15-foot trailer of mulch. Estes pulled into the motorcyclist’s path by allegedly making a left turn from a driveway that indicated only right turns. The two vehicles collided in the No. 1 lane of westbound Oceanside Boulevard.
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The accident happened on the 3200 block of Oceanside Boulevard between Rancho del Oro and El Camino Real.
Authorities declared the motorcyclist dead at the scene and police arrested Estes for suspicion of gross vehicular manslaughter and booked him into the Vista jail.
Oceanside Boulevard, between Rancho del Oro and El Camino Real, remained closed until about 7 p.m.
Police ask anyone with additional information to call David Paul at 760-435-4431.
Deaths on motorcycles happen 28 times more often than other vehicle fatalities, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
California has the highest number of motorcycles registrations, according to Statista, a marketing and consumer statistical data company. Statistics show that the state had 842,543 units registered in 2017. Additional reports indicate that number has topped 900,000 now with more than 1.4 million licensed riders.
Preliminary data from 2018 indicated that California set the scene for nearly 17,000 collisions and 460 deaths that involved motorcycles. That number shows a reduction in deaths from the year before — with more than 17,000 motorcycle accidents and 577 deaths.