Crime & Safety
Sonoma Man Identified As Motorcyclist Killed In Hwy 12 Crash
The victim in a fatal collision Saturday involving a BMW motorcycle and a Toyota Highlander was a Sonoma resident, authorities say.
SONOMA COUNTY, CA — The Sonoma County Sheriff's Office has identified a motorcyclist who died in a collision near Sonoma on Saturday night as Thomas Donald Rienecker, 63, of Sonoma. Rienecker was riding a 1981 BMW motorcycle west on state Highway 12 west of Specht Road in unincorporated Sonoma County around 9:10 p.m. when he was struck by a 2006 Toyota Highlander driven by a 20-year-old Sonoma woman, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The Toyota was in a two-way left turn lane on eastbound Highway 12 when the driver turned north toward a private driveway and directly into the path of the motorcycle, according to the CHP.
Rienecker was ejected from the motorcycle and pronounced dead at the scene by Sonoma Valley Fire and Rescue Authority medics at 9:23 p.m.
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The Toyota driver suffered minor injuries, CHP officials said.
By Bay City News Service
Find out what's happening in Sonoma Valleyfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
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