A motorcycle nearing the Plaza on West Spain Street crossed the dividing line early this morning, striking a skateboarder and sending both men to the hospital with major injuries. The motorcyclist, Michael Kelley, 59, of Sonoma, was flown by CHP helicopter to Santa Rosa’s Memorial Hospital.
The name of the male skateboarder, a 20-year-old from Glen Ellen, has not been released. He was taken by ambulance to Memorial, where he is in a coma. A second skateboarder, a 20-year-old male from Sonoma, was uninjured.
According to initial police reports, the two skateboarders were riding in the street at the time of impact but “it appears their actions did not contribute to the accident.”
Approaching the boarders from behind at about 12:15am, the motorcycle crossed the double-yellow line and struck one of them. The motorcycle went into a slide, throwing Kelley into a fence on the corner of Second Street West. “Alcohol appears to be a contributing factor,” according to police. Kelley works at Murphy’s Irish Pub.
Kelley had no pulse when medics first arrived. He sustained life-threatening injuries including fractured vertebrae in his back and neck. The CHP helicopter was able to land near the accident site, in an empty field at Second Street West, and transport him to Santa Rosa. He remains in critical condition.
