A Petaluma man was transported to with serious injuries Wednesday afternoon after being ejected from his motor scooter on the Hwy. 101 overpass above downtown San Rafael, landing on the roof of a car 40 feet below before rolling onto the Second Street sidewalk, law enforcement authorities said.
California Highway Patrol are still investigating the incident, according to officer Dave Jones. The man driving the Vespa scooter, Timothy Bergman, 42, sustained major injuries as a result of the collision, breaking his pelvis, femur, knee, wrist, ribs and scapula, CHP spokesman Eric Hohmeister said. San Rafael Fire Paramedics took Bergman to Marin General for treatment of his injuries. He was wearing a helmet at the time of the collision, Hohmeister said.
The incident occurred at 3:10 p.m. when Bergman was traveling northbound on Hwy. 101 at approximately 60mph and lost control of his scooter. He swerved and hit the center divider and was sent careening from the Vespa, falling through a gap between the elevated northbound and southbound portions of Hwy. 101 along the San Rafael Viaduct, Hohmeister said.
Bergman fell approximately 40 feet, landing on a Volkswagen Jetta traveling down Second Street. The teenaged driver of the Jetta was unhurt in the incident, Hohmeister said.
Bergman was driving with a dog in a pouch on the Vespa. The dog hit the center divider with the man, and was killed by the impact or by an oncoming car, Jones said.
Police closed off on Second Street at Hetherton, but reopened all lanes around 4:40 p.m.
