Load Securement and Driver Awareness Factors in Cyclist Fatality
Originally Published by: Napa Valley Register — October 17, 2023
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Two bicyclists, a married couple from Portland, Oregon, died Tuesday in Napa County after a crash involving a lumber truck whose payload shifted into their path, according to the California Highway Patrol.
A man riding a Trek bike and a woman on a Specialized were riding in the northbound bike lane of the Silverado Trail north of Oak Knoll Avenue when, at 11 a.m., a cargo of lumber shifted on a northbound flatbed truck, CHP said in a news release. The wood protruded to the right of the truck and struck the cyclists, causing a crash.
The male cyclist died at the scene. The female cyclist was taken by American Medical Response ambulance to Providence Queen of the Valley Medical Center, but died in the hospital, according to Vince Pompliano, spokesperson for CHP’s Napa bureau.
Wednesday afternoon, the Napa County Coroner's Office identified the cyclists as Christian Deaton, 52, and Michelle Deaton, 48, who were visiting the Napa Valley, according to spokesperson Henry Wofford. A Facebook page in Christian Deaton's name listed him and Michelle as husband and wife.
The three-axle truck, a 2018 Freightliner owned by Foster Lumber Yards, was being driven by 55-year-old Porfirio Sanchez of Vallejo when for unknown reasons, its payload of lumber shifted to the side and into the bicyclists’ path, according to Pompliano.
Sanchez stopped his truck after the crash, and several witnesses went to the scene in the 3300 block of Silverado to assist the victims, the highway patrol reported.
Sanchez was not injured in the collision, Pompliano said.
Silverado was closed for nearly five hours after the crash, and drivers were detoured at Oak Knoll and at Yountville Cross Road.
In a statement Wednesday morning, Central Valley Builders, which owns Foster, said: "We are devastated by this news, and our deepest sympathies are with the victims' families and loved ones. Central Valley is continuing to gather the facts to determine exactly what happened, including working closely with local law enforcement as they investigate this incident.”