SEARCH RESUMES FOR MOTORCYCLIST WHO FLEW OVER ANTIOCH BRIDGE: ANTIOCH (AP) — The search resumed Monday for a motorcyclist who was thrown into the San Joaquin River after colliding with a car on the Antioch Bridge.
The California Highway Patrol the motorcyclist may have been speeding when he or she collided with a car on the bridge Sunday afternoon. When officers arrived, they found the motorcycle at the high point of the bridge, but not its driver.
CHP Officer Peter Van Eckhardt says the motorcyclist likely flipped over the railing and into the water below.
No one in the car was injured.
WOMAN RIDING WHEELCHAIR ON FREEWAY HIT, KILLED BY MOTORIST: LANCASTER (AP) — Sheriff’s officials say a woman riding a motorized wheelchair on a Southern California freeway died after being struck by a car.
Sgt. Sean Boog says the fatal collision occurred Saturday night in southbound lanes of State Route 14 in Lancaster.
Jennifer Jones, 30, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Boog says the driver of the vehicle said she did not see Jones. He says the motorist immediately contacted authorities and remained at the scene after investigators arrived.
Sheriff’s officials are investigating why Jones, a resident of Kern County, was riding an electric wheelchair on the busy five-lane freeway.
BOY DIES, ANOTHER BOY INJURED IN ATV ACCIDENT : LINCOLN (AP) — A 5-year-old boy drowned and a 3-year-old boy was seriously injured after they drove an ATV into a pond in Northern California.
The boys were riding the three-wheeler on Sunday afternoon on a large rural property near Sacramento when they accidentally drove into the pond.
California Highway Patrol Sgt. Steve Pellegrino says the boys were wearing helmets and adults were on the property. However, it was not clear if the boy were being supervised. No one saw the boys drive into the pond.
The boy’s names were not released. The condition of the younger boy was not available Monday morning. The two boys were not siblings.
Pellegrino says their family members pulled the boys from the pond. .
PEST DISCOVERY HAS SONOMA COUNTY AG INSPECTORS ON ALERT : SANTA ROSA (AP) — Sonoma County agriculture inspectors are on high alert after discovering a pest that has been the scourge of the wine grape industry in tree shipments from Southern California.
The Santa Rosa Press Democrat reported Sunday that inspectors rejected a shipment of mostly olive trees from Ventura County sent to a nursery last month after finding eggs and exoskeletons of the glassy-winged sharpshooter.
The sharpshooter can transmit bacteria responsible for plant diseases, including Pierce’s disease, which is fatal to grapevines.
Now inspectors are closely examining all shipments from Southern California plant nurseries.
The newspaper says most shipments from infested areas are sprayed with an approved treatment protocol that renders eggs unviable and kills adult bugs.
Officials estimate they find evidence of the insect pests at least twice in a year.
CAR CRASHES INTO MINI GOLF CENTER IN MILPITAS: MILPITAS (AP) — Police are investigating a hit-and-run crash where a car struck a bicyclist at a Northern California miniature golf course.
KNTV in San Jose reports Monday that the car then crashed into a building at Golfland in Milpitas, a suburb of San Jose, on Sunday afternoon.
The driver left the scene and has not been identified. The bicyclist was rushed to an area hospital. The condition of the cyclist was not available Monday.
The extent of the damage to the Golfland building was not available. No one else was injured.
3 FUGITIVE GANG MEMBERS ARRESTED IN SONOMA COUNTY: CLOVERDALE (AP) — Authorities say three 17-year-old gang members who escaped from a Northern California probation camp were arrested after stealing a car and holding its owner hostage.
The Santa Rosa Press Democrat reports the arrests occurred Saturday in Sonoma County after a California Highway Patrol officer stopped a speeding Honda and noticed the young driver and two of the three passengers were all wearing the same clothing: gray sweatshirts and blue jeans.
The CHP officer discovered the vehicle had been carjacked and the victim was being held inside.
Officials say the three had escaped from a minimum security camp near the Oregon border. The alleged carjacking occurred at an Oregon rest stop.
The trio could face charges including kidnapping, assault and auto theft. It wasn’t immediately known if they have lawyers.
PARENTS OF MAN SHOT, KILLED BY DEPUTIES SUE COUNTY: LOS ANGELES (AP) — A wrongful-death lawsuit has been filed by the parents of one of two men shot to death by Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies after one of the victims brandished a handgun later found to be fake.
City News Service reports Monday that the suit filed last week by Ruben and Maria Bermudez alleges their son posed no threat to the deputies. They are seeking unspecified damages from the county.
Twenty-six-year-old Eduardo Bermudez died at the scene of the shooting last November in East Los Angeles.
Officials say Bermudez was in a car driven by a 57-year-old man when one of them pointed what appeared to be a .45-caliber handgun at a pedestrian and then at deputies.
Deputies opened fire, killing Bermudez and the driver.
LOS ANGELES MAN WHO SET BACK ODOMETERS GETS PRISON: LOS ANGELES (AP) — A Southern California man who set back hundreds of odometers to conceal their real mileage has been sentenced to two years in federal prison.
Shamai Salpeter of Tarzana was sentenced Monday in Los Angeles. He also was ordered to pay nearly $425,000 in restitution to people who bought cars with incorrect odometer readings.
Prosecutors say for about 3½ years beginning in 2008, Salpeter reset to any mileage requested by his customers. Some were trying to avoid penalties for exceeding the maximum mileage on their leased cars. Others wanted to make the cars more valuable at trade-in.
Salpeter charged up to $400 per odometer. He pleaded guilty last fall to conspiracy and tampering with an odometer.
