Motorcyclist dies after crash near Lakeport

A motorcyclist was killed Saturday outside Lakeport when he lost control of his cycle on Highway 175 and crashed into a guardrail.

The accident occurred about 1:30 p.m. Saturday while the man was riding with a group of friends about five miles west of Lakeport, Lakeport Fire Department paramedic Spencer Johnson said.

The motorcyclist's friends and other drivers who stopped at the scene tried to keep him from moving his neck.

REACH Air Medical Services was called from Santa Rosa, but the motorcyclist was not stable enough to be transported by air, Johnson said. The man, who was wearing a helmet and other protective gear, stopped breathing shortly after paramedics arrived, he said.

The man, who has not been identified, was pronounced dead at Sutter Lakeside Hospital in Lakeport, Johnson said.

-- Tracie Morales