Identity of Victim in Deadly Crash Released

BY THE NATOMAS BUZZ STAFF
THE NATOMAS BUZZ | @natomasbuzz

The accident occurred on West Elverta Road, just east of Garden Highway. / Google Map

The victim of a deadly accident Wednesday afternoon on a rural road north of the Sacramento International Airport has been identified by the Sacramento County Coroner.

David Curtis Free, 68, of Roseville, was killed instantly when the motorcycle he was riding was hit by a vehicle driving on the wrong side of West Elverta Road.

At about 3:19 p.m. on Nov. 25 North Sacramento CHP Area units were dispatched to a call of a three-vehicle collision on West Elverta Road just east of Garden Highway.

Upon arrival to the scene, CHP officers found that a Hyundai Sonata, being driven by a 41-year-old man from Woodland, had collided with a Yamaha Sportster motorcycle and a Harley Davidson Street Glide motorcycle, being ridden by Free.

According to a CHP press release, officers on the scene determined the Hyundai Sonata was traveling on West Elverta Road, approaching Garden Highway in the westbound lane. The Yamaha Sportster, being ridden by a 64-year-old woman from Sacramento, and the Harley Davidson Street Glide were traveling on West Elverta Road in the eastbound lane.

“For reasons still under investigation, the Hyundai Sonata traveled into the eastbound lane of travel and struck the left side of the Yamaha Sportster and its rider,” reads the press release.

After colliding with the Yamaha Sportster, the Hyundai Sonata continued in the eastbound lane and the front of the Sonata struck the front of the Harley Davidson Street Glide, according to the CHP.

Emergency medical personnel responded to the scene and transported the Yamaha Sportster’s rider to a nearby hospital. Free died immediately as the results of his injuries at the scene, the CHP said.

The cause of the crash is still under investigation and it is unknown whether drugs or alcohol were contributing factors, according to the CHP.

Anyone who may have witnessed this collision or who can provide any additional information should call Officer A.J. McTaggart at the North Sacramento Area CHP office at 916-348-2300 or by cell phone at 916-798-0975. Follow us on Twitter @CHPNSac, Facebook.com/chpnorthsac, Instagram @chpnorthsac, or Nextdoor.