Man left with serious injuries after motorcycle crash near Petaluma

A man was airlifted to the Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital with serious injuries Saturday afternoon after he ran his motorcycle off a rural southwest Sonoma County road and into a barbed wire fence.

The downed motorcyclist was reported to authorities about 5:35 p.m. on Valley Ford Road near Gerick Road, CHP Officer Nick Herman said. The man, who was in his mid-20s, was eastbound on the roadway, located near the unincorporated town of Bloomfield northwest of Petaluma.

“It’s kind of a sweeping left hand turn and it looks like he took the turn a little too wide,” Herman said. “He exited on the south side of the roadway and went off the road and down.”

Officers were investigating whether drugs or alcohol played a factor in the crash, as well as the man’s speed when he left the roadway, Herman said.

You can reach Staff Writer Nashelly Chavez at 707-521-5203 or nashelly.chavez@pressdemocrat.com.