Coroner Identifies Elderly Motorcycle Crash Victim

SANTA ROSA - The Sonoma County coroner's office has identified the motorcycle driver who died in a solo vehicle crash Wednesday afternoon as Gordon Yaswen, 78, of Sebastopol.

The crash happened around 12:50 p.m. on eastbound state Highway 12 just west of Farmers Lane, according to the California Highway Patrol.

Witnesses said the driver gradually drifted to the south shoulder of the road and hit a guardrail before leaving the bike, the CHP said.

Yaswen might have suffered a medical emergency rather than the injuries he suffered in the crash.

Yaswen was pronounced dead at 1:02 p.m., a coroner's office spokeswoman said.

The results of an autopsy Thursday are pending toxicology test results, the coroner's office spokeswoman said.

-Bay City News