Mario Carrete Identified as Victim of Motorcycle Accident on Highway 178 in the Canyon, Bakersfield
Bakersfield, California (June 28, 2022) – Authorities identified 64-year-old Mario Lewis Carrete as the man who died in a Thursday evening motorcycle collision in Bakersfield.
According to police, the collision occurred at about 6:27 p.m. on Highway 178 near Democrat Road in the canyon.
Carrete was riding a 2002 Harley Davidson and collided with a 2010 Ford Edge driven by Yates Brooks, 49, of Los Banos.
A preliminary investigation revealed that Carrete was traveling east on Highway 178 and Brooks was heading west on the same highway.
It remains unclear why Carrete, a Bakersfield resident, allowed his motorcycle to cross over the double yellow lines and crash into the left side of the Ford.
The force ejected the rider from the bike onto the roadway. First responders pronounced Carrete dead at the scene.
Original Story
Bakersfield, California (June 24, 2022) – At least one person was killed in a Thursday evening head-on collision involving a motorcycle in Bakersfield, authorities said.
The crash deadly occurred at about 6:41 p.m. on Highway 178 in the canyon near Democrat Road.
According to the California Highway Patrol, a vehicle collided head-on with a motorcycle on the highway in unclear circumstances.
At least one person was killed in the accident.
The CHP said that traffic was shut down at the mouth of the canyon at Kern Canyon Road in Bakersfield.
Further details regarding the accident were not immediately available.
An investigation into the accident is underway.
Crash Fatalities in California Went Up in 2021, Early Federal Estimates Show
Newly released estimates by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) show that fatalities caused by traffic crashes on U.S. freeways reached a 16-year high in 2021.
The crash deaths also increased in almost every state, including California, according to NHTSA.
According to the Early Estimate of Motor Vehicle Traffic Fatalities in 2021 report released by NHTSA, about 42,915 people were killed in traffic collisions in 2021 in the U.S. This shows a 10.5% increase from the 38,828 fatalities reported in 2020.
NHTSA says the projection is the highest number of traffic deaths since 2005 as well as the largest percentage rise in the history of the Fatality Analysis Reporting System.
In California, 4,258 people died in traffic collisions in 2021 – a 10.7 increase from 2020's 3,847, as per the NHTSA report titled – “Crash Stats: Early Estimate of Motor Vehicle Traffic Fatalities in 2021.”
According to the traffic deaths estimates, in the two-state region that includes Arizona and California, crash fatalities in 2021 are projected to go up by 10% over the previous year.
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