CLEARLAKE >> One man sustained major injuries, and two face charges after a vehicle versus motorcycle crash early Sunday afternoon.
The incident was reported at about 12:15 p.m. Fire personnel attended to Clearlake resident James West, 39, who suffered injuries to his head and leg riding a small off-road mini-bike, and was transported via air ambulance to an out-of-county medical center, according to Clearlake Police Department (CPD) Sgt. Rodd Joseph. His condition was not known at the time of the press statement. The driver of the Mercedes, identified as 46-year-old Clearlake resident David Ford, was uninjured.
During the investigation it was discovered that Ford’s Mercedes’ vehicle registration had expired and prior to police arriving on scene, Ford had admittedly switched the license plates on his Mercedes with current plates which belong to a different vehicle, Joseph stated. The expired Mercedes license plates were located in some nearby bushes. Both vehicles were towed later from the scene.
The collision is still under investigation but preliminary results indicate Ford was driving his Mercedes eastbound on Manakee Avenue at about the speed limit, Joseph stated. West, driving the off-road mini-bike, pulled out of a vacant lot onto Manakee Avenue reportedly in the path of Ford’s Mercedes. The crash threw West from the mini-bike into the windshield of the Mercedes where he suffered the injuries.
Initially, West allegedly tried to convince Ford to drive him away before police arrived, and even tried to climb into Ford’s vehicle, Joseph stated.
West was found to have a suspended driver’s license.
Once completed, the crash investigation will be referred to the Lake County District Attorney’s Office to complete charges on West for driving on a suspended license and Ford for false vehicle registration.
Anyone who may have witnessed the collision is asked to contact the CPD. The investigating officer is Travis Lenz. He can be reached at 994-8251 ext 511.
