A motorcyclist was killed after he lost control of his Harley Davidson motorcycle and collided with a farm equipment vehicle on Highway 139.
According to a statement from the California Highway Patrol, about 10:45 a.m. Tuesday, July 6, Michael Pennington, 51, of Bellflower, California was driving his motorcycle southbound on Highway 139 at a high rate of speed. Due to his unsafe speed, Pennington lost control of the motorcycle as he attempted to negotiate a left curve in the roadway.
The motorcycle overturned and Pennington was ejected. The motorcycle crossed the solid double yellow dividing line directly into the path of a New Holland driven by John Fitzgerald, 49, of Susanville. Fitzgerald was traveling northbound at about 35 miles per hour.
Fitzgerald applied a “hard brake application” to the New Holland in an attempt to avoid a crash, but he was unable to avoid Pennington, who collided with the New Holland and suffered fatal injures as a result of the collision. Fitzgerald was not injured.
