Multiple Weekend Motorcycle Accidents in Calaveras County

It was a dangerous weekend for motorcyclists in Calaveras County. Reports from the California Highway Patrol indicate three separate motorcycle accidents took place.

Just after noon Saturday, a mechanical malfunction is suspected of causing a motorcycle to accelerate suddenly on Highway 49 just south of the Amador County line. 57-year-old Glenn Root hit a guardrail and was taken to Doctors Hospital in Modesto for a few cuts and some back pain.

DUI is believed to be the cause of another Saturday wreck which seriously injured a biker on Quail Oak Road in Valley Springs. 36-year-old Paul Cavagnaro and 45-year-old Lisa Copeland were on a 2003 Harley Davidson when the bike drifted off the road, slid on the dirt shoulder and flipped over. Cavagnaro was airlifted to Doctors Hospital in Modesto with major injuries, and is under arrest on DUI charges. Copeland was the passenger, and was taken to Mark Twain Hospital with scrapes.

And Sunday, 22-year-old Bradley Shaw was westbound on Highway 4 in Douglass Flat, riding his 85 Kawasaki. He apparently failed to yield to a minivan and wasn´t wearing a helmet. Shaw was also airlifted to Doctors Hospital in Modesto, and placed under arrest. The CHP is looking into drugs or alcohol as a factor in this accident.