Apple Valley, CA, September 16 – A 69-year-old Apple Valley man suffered major injuries in a motorcycle versus vehicle collision Monday afternoon at an intersection in Apple Valley, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department. The motorcycle collided with a Ford F-150 pickup truck that was towing a trailer. Deputies from the Apple Valley Station and Apple Valley Fire Protection District personnel responded to investigate and assist at the scene.
Apple Valley Motorcyclist Suffers Major Injuries in Collision With Pickup Truck
The crash occurred at approximately 4:56 p.m. on September 14 at the intersection of Marigold Street and Apple Valley Road. According to a preliminary investigation, a 2006 Ford F-150 pickup truck towing a Carson trailer was heading southbound on Apple Valley Road toward Marigold Street. At the same time, a 2019 Harley-Davidson motorcycle, operated by the 69-year-old Apple Valley man, was traveling northbound on Apple Valley Road. The two vehicles collided, leaving the motorcyclist with major injuries.
According to the preliminary investigation, the Ford’s driver, a 22-year-old Adelanto man, turned left in front of the motorcycle just before the two vehicles collided at the intersection. The motorcyclist was reported to be the only person injured in the crash. The Sheriff’s Department has not released additional information about what led to the left turn or whether any other factors contributed to the collision.
As of this writing, no citations or arrests have been reported in connection with the collision. The Apple Valley Station has not said whether the investigation into the crash remains open or when further findings might be released. Additional details from the department’s preliminary investigation may become available as the review continues.
The extent of the motorcyclist’s injuries beyond the description of ‘major’ has not been made public, and it is not known whether he was hospitalized or what his current condition is. Authorities have not released the identity of the motorcyclist, and no additional information about the crash has been made available at this time.
Lane splitting, and what the Vehicle Code actually says
Vehicle Code section 21658.1 defines lane splitting and authorises the California Highway Patrol to develop educational guidelines for it. What matters after a crash is the distinction the section draws: lane splitting is not prohibited in California, and not prohibited is not the same thing as legal.
The practical effect is that a rider who was lane splitting has not broken a rule by doing so, and an insurer that treats lane splitting as automatic fault is asserting something the statute does not say. Fault still turns on how each party behaved, the same as in any other collision.
The deadline that applies to a claim like this one
Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1 gives two years for an action for injury to, or for the death of, an individual caused by the wrongful act or neglect of another. The same two years covers an injury claim and a death claim; there is no separate, shorter period because someone died.
Talking to someone about it
Culver Legal represents people injured in collisions across California. A conversation about what happened costs nothing, and we work on a contingency fee, which means there is no fee unless we win. If we do not win, we do not pass the case costs on to you either.
Nothing on this page is legal advice about any particular case, and the facts of a reported collision often change as the investigation continues.
