Man killed in head-on collision
Miguel Martinez with his daughter Eve Martinez. (For The Madera Tribune)
Funds are currently being raised to help pay for the funeral expenses of a man from Madera, who was killed after his motorcycle collided with a pickup truck on State Route 145 and Avenue 11.
According to California Highway Patrol Sgt. Lincoln McKenna, Miguel Martinez, 23, was driving his 2015 Kawasaki Ninja motorcycle Tuesday on State Route 145, headed south. Around 7:10 a.m., Chrisostomo Leal, 55, of Orosi, was driving his 2000 Toyota Tacoma in the northbound lane, when he saw Martinez near Avenue 11.
“The driver of the Toyota stated that, for whatever reason, he thought the motorcycle was going to be turning left in an easterly direction onto Avenue 11,” McKenna said. “The driver of the Toyota had slowed his vehicle in order to turn left, or a westerly direction on Avenue 11.”
Leal reportedly turned into the southbound lane to turn, but Martinez did not turn onto Avenue 11. Instead, the two drivers collided in the lane, ejecting Martinez, who bounced off the Toyota’s window, and landed in the shoulder.
Martinez was pronounced dead on the scene.
Leal, whose airbag went off in the accident, complained of chest pain.
Martinez, who was a graduate of Madera High, was a cook for Kerman Unified School District. According his godmother, Marciela Garcia, he was on his way to work when the accident took place. He leaves behind a 3-year-old daughter, Eve Martinez.
“He was a very loving father,” Garcia said. “He was just a good kid.”
McKenna has stated that alcohol and drugs were not believed to be involved.
