Motorcyclist killed, passenger injured in crash on Highway 99 in Merced County

Authorities are investigating a collision which left a motorcycle rider dead and his passenger with major injuries in Merced County over the weekend.

Merced area California Highway Patrol officers responded to a collision involving a motorcycle on northbound Highway 99 near Mission Avenue shortly at 12:04 a.m. Sunday. A 49-year-old Atwater man was riding a Honda sport bike with a female passenger northbound on Highway 99 at an unknown speed just south of Mission Avenue when for unknown reasons, the motorcycle traveled off the roadway and crashed into the center median barrier, according to the CHP.

Authorities said both the rider and passenger were wearing helmets and both were ejected from the motorcycle during the crash. The man was pronounced dead at the scene. The female passenger was transported to Memorial Medical Center in Modesto for treatment of major injuries.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation and it is unknown if drugs or alcohol were a factor in the crash, a CHP spokesman said. Anyone with information is asked to contact CHP Officer Abdiel Enriquez at 209-356-6600.