Victim of Highway 101 Crash Identified

A motorcyclist killed in a crash while in traffic Tuesday evening on U.S. Highway 101 in East Palo Alto was identified today as 27-year-old Ronald Barbaran Garcia, of Union City, according to the San Mateo County coroner’s office. Earlier reports said that the crash was in Palo Alto.

Around 5:45 p.m., officers responded to a report of a motorcyclist down on southbound Highway 101 north of Embarcadero Road, California Highway Patrol Officer Art Montiel said.

Garcia was on a 2014 Yamaha motorcycle speeding south on the freeway and was lane splitting through slow traffic, Montiel said.

He struck the rear of a 2015 Ford when traffic came to a stop and was ejected from his motorcycle, according to Montiel. Emergency crews pronounced Garcia dead at the scene, Montiel said.

A 36-year-old Milpitas woman who drove the Ford was not injured in the crash and was cooperative with investigators, Montiel said.

Earlier Coverage:

• Motorcyclist Was Splitting Lanes When Deadly Crash Occured
• ‘Terrible Traffic’ Delayed Emergency Response to Fatal Accident

Tuesday evening’s traffic was “terrible” and prevented first responders from reaching the scene sooner, Menlo Park Fire Protection District Chief Harold Schapelhouman said.

Last week, the district’s board of directors adopted new standards establishing a goal of having the first firefighters on the scene of an incident within seven minutes of being reported to dispatch.

Firefighters were not able to meet that new standard when they responded to Tuesday’s fatal crash, Schapelhouman said.

Anyone who witnessed the crash is asked to call CHP Officer Bobby Grewal at (650) 369-6261.

--Bay City News