Bike rider dies in Sonoma Valley crash, the second cyclist death in two days

The death of a bike rider Wednesday in the Sonoma Valley was the second fatal crash in Sonoma County in two days involving a bicyclist and a vehicle, according to the CHP.

Wednesday’s death also was the county’s third in two weeks involving men with bikes - two of them aged 79 and one 89, according to the CHP.

About 9:10 a.m. Wednesday, a 79-year-old Sonoma man riding west on Highway 12 appeared to be heading to or from work. He wore no bike helmet but had on work boots and work clothes, said CHP Officer Marc?Renspurger.

Near Madrone Road, the rider and a westbound driver in a Ford Mustang collided in the westbound lane. The rider was thrown onto the vehicle’s windshield and hood and then to the roadway, his bike knocked off to the side.

The impact with the asphalt appeared to have killed the man, Renspurger said.

The 74-year-old driver, Sparrow Brazil, also of Sonoma, wasn’t injured. He stopped and has aided officers on the investigation. The driver passed sobriety tests and drugs or alcohol weren’t believed to be factors, the CHP officer said.

Several drivers stopped, with some blocking the man’s body from traffic, which quickly backed up on the busy east county highway.

The highway between Madrone Road and West Agua Caliente Road was closed initially, and law enforcement later directed traffic through the area as officers investigated.

On Tuesday, just after noon, a 79-year-old cyclist died after being hit by a large truck on Todd Road in southern Santa Rosa. The man was Genaro Viramontes, 79, of Santa Rosa, the Sonoma County Coroner’s Office said Wednesday.

Viramontes was standing with his bicycle at the corner of Todd and South Moorland Avenue when he either rode or walked his bike into the path of a Peterbilt truck, whose driver had the right-of-way, CHP Officer David deRutte said Wednesday.

The truck driver had been stopped at the intersection, got the green light and began to slowly drive into the intersection. For unknown reasons, Viramontes started across the truck’s path. He and his bike were pulled underneath and pinned under the wheels, authorities said.

That crash Wednesday remained under investigation.

On Oct. 23, 89-year-old Valerio Estrada of Petaluma was riding his adult tricycle on Lakeville Street when he and a Clover Sonoma truck trailer collided, police said. The crash remained under investigation by Petaluma police.