OXNARD : Motorcyclist Killed When Hit by Truck

A pickup truck driver trying to secure his coffee cup swerved out of his lane and struck and killed an Oxnard motorcyclist early Wednesday north of Camarillo, authorities said.

“It was a very sobering thing, to think that we all could make that mistake,” said Sherrie Latimer, the California Highway Patrol officer who investigated the accident.

The motorcyclist, Thomas L. Sharp, 54, was on his way to work about 6:35 a.m. on Somis Road, south of West Street. Sharp, who worked for Ventura County Cablevision, died at 7:50 a.m. at St. John’s Pleasant Valley Hospital in Camarillo, Deputy Coroner Dale Zintzis said.

The driver of the pickup, 26-year-old Shane A. Thiessen, “was in shock,” Latimer said.

She said Thiessen, like Sharp, was on his way to work, traveling south on Somis Road at about 50 m.p.h., when he reached down to secure his coffee cup in the center console and drifted across the double-yellow line.

When Thiessen looked up and saw the 1983 Honda motorcycle, he tried to swerve out of its path, Latimer said.

Sharp, who was wearing a helmet, died from chest and leg injuries, Zintzis said. Thiessen, who reported no injuries at the scene, was wearing his seat belt and might have escaped injury because of it, Latimer said.

Sharp is survived by his wife, Anita.