Motorcycle rider critically hurt in Santa Rosa crash with SUV

A motorcycle rider was critically injured Sunday in a southern Santa Rosa crash with an SUV, according to the CHP.

The rider and a BMW driver, both unlicensed, collided about 2:10 p.m. at East Todd Road and Santa Rosa Avenue. The rider made a left turn from a gas station, heading north on Santa Rosa Avenue, into the southbound path of the SUV, CHP Officer Jon Sloat said.

A third vehicle turning between them may have blocked the vision of the rider and the driver, as there was no braking prior to the crash, Sloat said.

The impact knocked motorcyclist Forrest Isbell, 58, of Santa Rosa to the ground.

CHP, Rincon Valley firefighters and paramedics responded, finding Isbell about 15 feet from his Harley-Davidson bike. They gave the man medical aid, and he was taken to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital with critical injuries.

An infant in the BMW was taken to the hospital as a precaution. BMW driver Jose Avina, 28, of Santa Rosa, wasn’t injured.

A CHP investigation found the rider didn’t have a motorcycle license, and Avina didn’t have a driver’s license, Sloat said.

Both were expected to be cited as part of the investigation, Sloat said.

-Randi Rossmann