Wood Spill Aggravated Cycle Crash

Cords of firewood that spilled from a flatbed truck aggravated the fiery crash that killed five motorcyclists participating in an annual Labor Day weekend trip in the Sierra Nevada, the California Highway Patrol said Sunday.

Authorities said the load spilled after the driver of the truck crossed into an oncoming lane and into the path of dozens of bikers.

The driver, his passenger and a sixth motorcyclist were seriously injured in the crash Saturday on a stretch known as the Mormon Emigrant Trail, a mountain road about five miles south of Sly Park in El Dorado County, about five miles east of Jenkinson Reservoir south of U.S. 50.

The back roads of the Sierra Nevada forest land are the scene of an annual trek that attracts hundreds of cycling enthusiasts from the West.

Friends said the victims of the Saturday crash had been biking to the area for 10 years and were en route to a campsite in the Hope Valley.

40 Fatalities

Forty-two Labor Day traffic fatalities were reported in California by Sunday night. Those included that of a highway patrolman who burned to death in San Francisco when his car was rear-ended by a pickup truck.

Officer Hugo Olazar, 35, died inside the patrol car, which he had parked on the shoulder of a freeway late Saturday night in order to investigate a crash in which no one was injured.

The driver of the pickup, Jorge Perez of Daly City, was arrested on suspicion of felony driving under the influence of alcohol and vehicular manslaughter. Perez was in stable condition at San Francisco General Hospital.

In the Sierra Nevada incident, investigators were still trying to determine whether the motorcyclists were hit by the wood or crashed into it, and at which point the bikes and truck collided.

“Apparently, for some unknown reason, (the driver) crossed over the line and lost control, causing (a panel) that held the wood to break,” CHP spokeswoman Mary Ann Biggs said. “Wood went all over the roadway. The cycles went down; then there was a fire at the scene.”

No Charges

The truck driver was identified as Daniel DeWater, 24, of Shingle Springs. He was listed in serious condition at University Medical Center in Sacramento. His passenger, Wanda Robertson, 32, was reported in very critical condition with burns over 90% of her body, a spokeswoman said.

No charges have been filed in the incident, officials said Sunday.