Motorcyclist Dies After Veering to Avoid Mattress
A 73-year-old motorcyclist died Saturday morning after he swerved to avoid a mattress that had fallen onto the Riverside Freeway, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Robert Dale Norton of Murietta was riding his Honda motorcycle east near Coal Canyon Road in Orange County, when a mattress and box spring fell from a pickup in front of him and landed in his lane, a CHP officer said.
Norton swerved to avoid the mattress, cut across four lanes of traffic and collided with an embankment. He was thrown from his motorcycle about 9:35 a.m. and died an hour later at Corona Regional Medical Center.
Authorities said although the pickup driver had used rope to tie the bedding to a load of furnishings, the set became airborne. No charges are pending, according to police.
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