Two major accidents over the weekend in the South County, with one killing a Toy Run participant. Both were in very similar locations and both also involved a motorcyclist with a passenger colliding with a Honda vehicle driven by a Grass Valley resident. CHP Officer Jason Bice says 64-year-old Byron Hoffmier of Rocklin was riding southbound on Highway 49, near Little Deer Drive, Saturday afternoon, not long after the Toy Run ended. His passenger was his 62-year-old wife, Christie. Then a driver ahead of them, 44-year-old Melissa Southworth, encountered a deer on the highway…
click to listen to Officer Bice
Bice says that caused Hoffmier to crash into a grass and dirt area, with both he and his wife thrown, and causing fatal injuries to Christie Hoffmier. Byron Hoffmier had a broken arm. Southworth was not injured. Then, Sunday afternoon, Bice says 29-year-old Kenneth Mitchell, of Nevada City, was driving northbound on 49, near Little Deer Drive, with a nine-year-old passenger believed to be his daughter. He then attempted a U-turn…
click to listen to Officer Bice
The driver who collided with Mitchell, 40-year-old Melanie Highsmith, was not injured.
Sandi Curry
Where motorcycles are concerned, "It isn't a matter of if, it's a matter of when". I love riding on MC, or I did when I was much younger. Most MC accidents are caused by some other motorist. The problem is, during an accident there is NO PROTECTION for the cyclist. They are either going to be maimed or killed. It's sad, but it's reality.