Calaveras Sheriff’s Deputy Involved In Crash
Murphys, CA – A Calaveras County Sheriff’s patrol vehicle crashed with a motorcycle at a blind curve on a narrow, bumpy rural road in the Murphys area.
The collision happened on Camp 9 road off of Ponderosa Way near the Stanislaus River just after 3 p.m. Sunday. Deputy, 28-year-old Brian Cockey Jr. of San Andreas, was driving a marked Sheriff’s 2015 Ford Explorer SUV westbound on the roadway at about 15 mph. When coming around a curve the deputy spotted a 2002 Yamaha motorcycle going between 25-30 mph and driven by 37-year-old Blakley Lambert of Escalon. San Andreas CHP spokesperson Toby Butzler sarcastically describes, “Anyone that’s traveled Camp 9 road, It’s a one lane pothole basically the whole way.” He adds that the deputy slowed his vehicle and pulled as far to the right as he could but at the same, Lambert did the same but the front of the SUV smashed into the left side of the bike. The rider was ejected and the motorcycle landed in a dirt ditch.
Lambert sustained minor injuries and refused medical attention at the scene. The deputy was not hurt. Butzler reports neither drugs nor alcohol are suspected in the crash.