Cyclist hit and run on Branciforte Road, Santa Cruz County

The Santa Cruz Sentinel reports on this hit and run with injuries on Branciforte Road (locals call it “B-40”) near Glen Canyon Drive. The hit and run occurred the evening of Tuesday, January 22, 2013. The cyclist was transported to Dominican Hospital with serious injuries.

A 64-year-old Watsonville man is accused of felony hit-and-run after striking a cyclist on Branciforte Drive and then crashing into a concrete divider Tuesday evening.

Eleazar Ayala allegedly struck a 32-year-old Santa Cruz man who was riding his bike southbound on Branciforte and then kept going, CHP officer Grant Boles said. A little farther down Branciforte, Ayala struck a divider, causing his 1998 Nissan pickup to flip onto its side.

In the reader comments following the full news article on this crash, Ayala’s two sons claim the driver experienced “an unprecedented medical condition” of some type (perhaps a stroke?), which caused the crash.

Branciforte is a narrow two lane mountain road with little to no shoulder. It’s not my preferred route into Santa Cruz but I ride Branciforte probably a couple of times per month. I’ll take the middle of the lane where necessary to avoid getting clipped by drivers who might try to dangerously squeeze past when there’s not sufficient space for lane sharing.

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