Motorcyclist seriously injured in 4-vehicle crash

BY ERIC LINDBERG
DAILY SOUND STAFF WRITER

A 70-year-old Monrovia man suffered major injuries after his motorcycle collided with a pickup truck following a chain-reaction collision on Highway 101 that involved two other vehicles.
California Highway Patrol officials said Zonia Gonzalez, 47, of Ventura, lost control of her Mitsubishi Gallant as she approached Carrillo Street heading southbound on Highway 101 at approximately 1:15 p.m. on Monday.

After careening across all three lanes of traffic, the Mitsubishi hit the concrete center divider and rebounded into traffic, CHP Sgt. Don Clotworthy said, where it sideswiped a Chevrolet pickup truck in the center lane.
The driver of a Ford flatbed truck in the fast lane hit the brakes in an attempt to avoid colliding with the spinning Mitsubishi, Sgt. Clotworthy said. Leslie Edwin Rush, on his 1998 Harley Davidson motorcycle, was directly behind the pickup truck.
“When the truck began to brake, Mr. Rush was unable to slow down and impacted the rear end of the flatbed, ejecting him off the motorcycle and onto the roadway surface,” Sgt. Clotworthy said in a news release.
After hitting the Chevrolet, the Mitsubishi continued across the highway and hit the concrete barrier on the shoulder, he said. Emergency crews took both Rush and Gonzalez to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital for treatment.
Rush suffered major impact trauma, authorities said, and remains in critical condition in the intensive care unit. Gonzalez sustained moderate injuries, including a concussion and cuts.
The cause of the collision remains under investigation, Sgt. Clotworthy said, although alcohol is not suspected to be a factor. The drivers of the two other vehicles escaped injury.