Motorcyclist killed in Sonoma crash

A 63-year-old Sonoma motorcyclist died Saturday night in a crash, CHP officials said.

The man was riding west on Highway 12 about 9:10 p.m. when his bike collided with a vehicle making a left-hand turn toward a driveway near Specht Road, according to a report by the CHP.

Driver Lauren Simpson-Gomez, 20, of Sonoma was in a turn lane on eastbound Highway 12 when she drove “directly into the path” of the oncoming motorcyclist and “failed to yield,” a CHP officer said in the report. She was driving a 2006 Toyota Highlander SUV.

The rider was thrown from his bike, a 1981 BMW. Paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene, according to the CHP. His name was not released Sunday. A Sonoma County coroner’s sergeant said detectives were still trying to contact the man’s family.

You can reach Staff Writer Julie Johnson at 707-521-5220 or julie.johnson@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @jjpressdem.