Crime & Safety

Man Dies in Crash Near Cotati Friday Morning

The accident took place at about 7 a.m. Friday on Hwy. 116, according to authorities.

UPDATED 8 a.m. Saturday: The driver of a Honda involved with a collision that killed a motorcyclist Friday morning was booked into the Sonoma County jail on suspicion of gross vehicular manslaughter and driving without a license, the California Highway Patrol said.

The Sonoma County coroner's office identified the deceased motorcyclist this afternoon as 58-year-old Glenn Richard Vierra, of Santa Rosa.

Jorge Noe Valencia Figueroa, 33, of Cloverdale, pulled out of the parking lot of My Market on state Highway 116 west of Cotati and struck a 2008 Harley Davidson Road King that was traveling east on state Highway 116 near Stony Point Road around 7 a.m., CHP Officer Jon Sloat said.

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The CHP said it appears Vierra lay the bike down but was run over by the Honda Accord and trapped under it. Rancho Adobe Fire Protection District personnel extricated him from under the vehicle, Sloat said. Vierra was pronounced dead at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital at 7:41 a.m.

Figueroa was still being processed at the jail and his bail and court date were not available, a jail spokeswoman said Friday afternoon. Figueroa has four previous convictions for driving without a license, Sloat said. Alcohol does not appear to be a factor in the crash, the police said.

Find out what's happening in Rohnert Park-Cotatiwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

A motorcyclist who was involved in a crash with a vehicle on state Highway 116 west of Cotati this morning has died, a California Highway Patrol officer said.

The motorcycle was traveling east on Highway 116 and it appears the Guerneville man lay the motorcycle down but he was run over by the Honda, according to Sloat.

The first CHP officer at the scene and witnesses tried to rescue the man from beneath the Honda, Sloat said. The motorcyclist was eventually extricated by Rancho Adobe Fire Protection District personnel and given CPR before he was taken to the hospital, according to authorities.

Figueroa was detained and taken to the Rohnert Park Department of Public Safety for questioning, Sloat said.

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