Motorcyclist Dies In Rural Yolo County Collision; Driver Arrested But Not Charged

Driving a Harley-Davidson on County Road 85 in rural Yolo County, Denis Fred Bartz, Sr., 61, of Knights Landing collided with the Ford Ranger pickup driven by Manuel Perez of Woodland about 6 am on July 31st. California Highway Patrol officers are still investigating the crash.

The fatal collision occurred along Road 85 north of Capay.

CHP spokesman Bryan Konvalin stated investigators have so far ascertained that Perez approached Road 85 north of Capay along a gravel road, came to a halt at the intersection and then turned left. Perez apparently did not see Bartz coming. In the collision, Bartz was ejected onto the pavement. Despite aid administered by CHP officers, Bartz died at the scene of the accident.

Perez was not actually booked into jail after the accident, despite early reports he had been taken into custody.It turned out that Perez had some alcohol in his system but it was at a level less than .08 percent, the legal limit for DUI. “After talking to the district attorney, the decision was made not to book him for the DUI charge,” Konvalin stated. According to a Woodland Daily Democrat spokesperson, Perez’s wife, upon reading the newspaper’s Facebook post that reported Perez had been arrested, called the media outlet to state that her husband had not been booked. The story was then updated.

It is not yet known how fast Bartz was traveling when he hit Perez’s pickup. Authorities have not disclosed whether he was wearing a helmet at the time of the crash.

Read More:

Daily Democrat: Knights Landing motorcyclist dies after early morning collision near Esparto

Sacramento Bee: Motorcyclist in fatal crash was from Knights Landing

Davis Enterprise: Motorcyclist killed in rural Yolo County crash