Point Reyes Light - August 19, 1999
Motorcyclist dies in latest West Marin biker wreck
A Rohnert Park woman died Saturday when she crashed her motorcycle into a tree along Highway 1 two miles north of Point Reyes Station.
Sandra Cutright, 55, was riding her 1988 Kawasaki south at 3:45 p.m. when she veered off the road and crashed, said California Highway Patrol Officer Marcus Bartholomew. Cutright was administered CPR and was flown by helicopter to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
"She left the roadway, and as she crashed her head struck the tree," Bartholomew explained. Officers on the scene determined that no other vehicles were involved, and the cause of the accident is under investigation. "The cause may have been lack of skill or excessive speed," Bartholomew offered.
A second motorcycle accident, this one involving a San Rafael man, occurred later on Saturday on the Marshall-Petaluma Road two miles east of Marshall.
Craig Sheldon, 38, was traveling east at about 6:45 p.m. when he lost control of his 1982 Honda and collided with a telephone pole.
"He left the road and struck a small advisory sign, continued moving, and then struck a telephone pole," Officer Bartholomew explained. "It doesn't appear that there were other vehicles involved in the crash."
Sheldon suffered a broken leg in the accident, and was taken to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital for treatment.
The two accidents come just a couple of weeks after an incident on Highway 1 south of Tomales involving motorcyclists taking part in the traditional Sunday Morning Ride.
Usually made up of an informal group of professionals and executives, the Sunday Morning Ride meets at Tam Junction to ride the scenic, winding route up Highway 1 to Point Reyes Station, where they stop for coffee or breakfast, and then continue on towards Tomales.
Tomales cabinetmaker and long-time motorcyclist Bruce Kranzler was riding his motorcycle north on Highway 1 near the Walker Creek bridge when he saw another motorcyclist down in the southbound lane.
"The bike had hit a fawn, and looked as if it had gone down pretty hard," Kranzler told The Light. "The biker was definitely disoriented, and he was writhing in pain."
Then, according to Kranzler, after he stopped on the side of the road to assist the victim, two motorcycles passed at high speed and then two additional bikes approached and lost control as they braked.
"Then I realized it was the Sunday Morning Ride," Kranzler said. "One of the bikes went airborne and grazed my leg. And my bike was knocked over." Eventually, Kranzler said, the riders left the scene as if little had happened.
Kranzler explained that he also witnessed a fatal accident near the same spot several years prior, when a bicyclist was hit at high speed and knocked clear off the road. An emergency medical technician at the scene later told Kranzler that the cyclist died from the injuries.
Kranzler, who has ridden motorcycles for 35 years but does not participate in the Sunday Morning Ride, appreciates the tradition and camaraderie of the event, but feels that increased traffic along Highway 1 has made it dangerous for groups to travel at high speeds.
"I've put many miles on this stretch of coast, and the variables keep increasing," he said. He notes deer, RVs, and an increase in sightseeing drivers as variables that some Sunday Morning Riders often ignore.
"It's not a racetrack. There are serious consequences with so many other vehicles on the road," Kranzler concluded. "We just need to tone it down."