Woman involved in Sonoma Coast motorcycle crash airlifted to hospital

A Vacaville woman was airlifted Saturday to the hospital after suffering serious injuries in a single-motorcycle crash on Highway 1 along the Sonoma Coast, authorities said.

The 41-year-old woman was riding in the passenger seat when the motorcycle crashed into a guardrail at Kolmer Gulch, north of Fort Ross State Historic Park, Timber Cove Fire Chief Dennis Meredith said. The passenger hit the guardrail when she was thrown from the motorcycle, he said.

The woman, who was not identified, suffered a serious arm injury and was flown to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital, Meredith said. The male driver had minor injuries, he added.

The crash was reported just before 2:30 p.m., a Redcom emergency dispatcher said.

A State Parks lifeguard was the first on the scene. He treated the motorcyclists until Timber Cove fire officials arrived, Supervising State Park Ranger Damien Jones said.

The California Highway Patrol and an ambulance from the Coast Life Support District also responded.

Meredith said the two-lane highway had to be shut for 10 minutes to allow responders to load the woman onto the ambulance and transfer her to a REACH helicopter waiting at Windermere Point near the Fort Ross state park. The brief closure caused major traffic backups in both directions.

“There was a lot of traffic on Highway 1,” Meredith said. “It’s big holiday weekend. Be careful.”