Motorcyclist killed near Hanford, his passenger survives

A man was killed Friday night after he suddenly lost control of his 2016 Harley Davidson motorcycle and crashed off Highway 198, not far from Hanford. He was then hit by a another vehicle, according to the California Highway Patrol.

A female passenger on the motorcycle survived, apparently with minor injuries.

The initial accident threw the man and the woman onto a freeway off-ramp, CHP spokesman Kenneth Bird said. The Hanford couple, in their 50s, were riding west on Highway 198 and had turned onto the northbound Highway 43 ramp when the accident happened.

Bird said the investigation into the motorcycle crash is still ongoing. The man died at the scene and the woman, who was thrown onto the right shoulder of the ramp, had complaints of pain. She was taken Friday night to Hanford Adventist Medical Center.

As the man laid in the roadway, a 2008 Honda driven by a woman struck him. CHP believes the man was already dead from the initial crash, before the car struck him.

The car’s driver stayed on scene and was not injured. Bird said so far she’s not facing any charges. The CHP was investigating the collisions separately. The accident closed traffic for about an hour, Bird said.

This story was originally published January 27, 2018 at 7:37 PM with the headline "Motorcyclist killed near Hanford, his passenger survives."