Agua Dulce Man Hurt in Crash Dies at Hospital

An Agua Dulce man who was critically injured when his motorcycle struck a U.S. Forest Service truck in Angeles National Forest last month died Friday at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center, authorities said.

Michael Karbacher, 50, had not regained consciousness since the Sept. 1 collision on Angeles Crest Highway, family friend Andrew Fried said.

Authorities said Karbacher and William Lawrence Carr, 46, of Altadena, were riding on the mountain highway east of Upper Big Tujunga Canyon Road at an unknown speed when their motorcycle slammed into the truck, which was parked across the road in order to block another crash. Carr, a cameraman for NBC, was killed.

“There was a previous collision [at about 1 p.m.] with major injury involving another motorcyclist who had to be flown out by helicopter,” said California Highway Patrol Officer Vincent Bell. “We had one of our officers investigating with the Forest Service and the Fire Department. The Forest Service does traffic control. Usually they use an engine to close off the road so the helicopter can land. Because of all the fires at the time, an engine was not available and they used a pickup truck to close off the highway.”

About 45 minutes later, Karbacher and Carr hit the truck. A founding member of the Safe Action for the Environment group, Karbacher is survived by his wife and 11-year-old son.

The crash remains under investigation, Bell said.