A Banning motorcyclist lost his life last week on Highway 243.
At about 12:40 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 15, Thai Yang, 40, of Banning, was riding a 2009 Yamaha motorcycle southbound on Highway 243. He was about 1 mile north of Mountain Center.
Vincent Brooks, 26, of Mountain Center, was driving a blue Ford F-150 northbound on Highway 243.
While negotiating a sweeping right-hand curve in the roadway, Yang lost control. He crossed the double-yellow lines resulting in a direct collision with the truck, according to the California Highway Patrol press release.
Yang was ejected from his seat onto the roadway surface and suffered fatal injuries. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Brooks was uninjured.
Alcohol and/or drugs have not been ruled out as contributing factors in the cause of this collision. Yang was wearing a helmet but lacked the proper license to ride a motorcycle.
No other vehicles were involved in the collision, according to CHP Officer Graham Aanestad, who is still investigating the incident, the report stated.
In another incident, at 3:25 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 16, Michael Krech of Idyllwild was driving his gold 2011 Ford 150 eastbound on Highway 74 near the intersection with Highway 243. At the same time, Alfonso Ortiz, 29 of San Bernardino, was entering northbound on Highway 243 driving a white 2011 Ford 250. Although the report is not complete as of this writing, both vehicles collided. There were no injuries, no other vehicles involved and both trucks were able to be driven from the scene.
At 9:20 a.m. Friday, Nov. 17, Christopher Babcock, 66, of New York City, was driving his red 2007 Jeep Cherokee north on Highway 243, 250 feet south of the intersection with Marian View Drive. At the same time, Felipe Magona, 28, of Corona, was driving a white 2015 freightliner semi-truck hauling a green box trailer south on Highway 243. Babcock’s vehicle crossed over the center line and sideswiped the large truck. There were no injuries or other vehicles involved in the crash but the Jeep had to be towed by Idyllwild Garage.
