Major Injuries In Motorcycle Crash On HWY4

Copperopolis, CA – A two-vehicle crash on Highway 4 resulted in a Valley Springs man being flown from the scene.

The wreck happened at 6:40 a.m. Friday at the intersection of Horseshoe Lane in the Copperopolis area of Calaveras County. The CHP reports that Shawn Westberg, 45, from Copperopolis was driving a 2001 GMC truck and pulled onto the highway in front of Ethan Gibson, 21, of Valley Springs riding a 2008 Harley Davidson motorcycle eastbound at about 65 MPH. Gibson slammed on his brakes and lost control of the bike, which caused it to overturn and eject him from the motorcycle. CHP officer Toby Butzler notes that the two vehicles did not actually hit each other.

Gibson suffered major injuries and had to be flown to a Modesto hospital. Westberg was not hurt. Traffic was backed up on the highway for about 10 minutes as the wreckage was cleared.