Rider of motorized tricycle struck and killed in Ceres

A man riding a motorized tricycle was struck and killed by a car Sunday night in Ceres, the California Highway Patrol reported.

The report of a vehicle vs. pedestrian collision in the area of Service and Moffet roads came in about 8:45 p.m. Officers found the trike rider lying in the roadway, and a Lexus stopped on the north shoulder of Service, west of Moffet, said CHP Officer Ming Hsu.

The preliminary investigation determined the Lexus driver, 32-year-old Yadira Flores of Ceres, was eastbound on Service Road, east of Collins Road, at about 40 mph. As she approached the trike, which also was eastbound, Flores failed to see it and and struck its rear, Hsu said.

The rider, who as of Monday morning remained unidentified, was sent airborne and struck the Lexus’ windshield at the roof line, the officer said. He continued over the top, breaking the sunroof, then hit the trunk before falling to the ground. “The driver continued east and knew she had hit something, but didn’t know what,” Hsu said. “So she turned around the found the rider lying in the road.”

Ceres police assisted initially with lifesaving measures, and AMR paramedics declared the rider dead at about 8:55.

The trike was taken to the CHP Modesto office. Hsu said he can find no manufacturer name, and it appears to be homemade. It has a motor and gas tank, and no pedals, lights or reflectors. There also is no indication in the report that the rider was wearing a helmet.

“It would have been difficult, if not impossible, to see” by the Lexus driver, Hsu said. He described it as a recumbent trike, with the rider sitting below hood line of the Lexus, out of the driver’s sight.

This story was originally published April 29, 2019 at 9:02 AM.