Carl William Pfister

Carl William Pfister died 10-24-2003 4:00 PDT PENINSULA -- A Santa Clara man died Sunday morning after crashing his motorcycle into an approaching vehicle along a stretch of San Mateo County road in a particularly deadly area for motorcyclists.

Carl William Pfister, 54, died of blunt impact trauma, according to the San Mateo County coroner. He was the third motorcyclist killed this year in the San Mateo County hills, CHP Officer Paul McCarthy said.

Pfister was driving his Ducati motorcycle on Highway 84 near Old La Honda Road in an unincorporated area about 11 a.m. Sunday when, investigators believe, he tried to pass another motorcycle and crossed the double yellow line, crashing head-on into a Dodge Caravan.

Pfister was killed immediately, McCarthy said, and parts of his shattered motorcycle flew into the path of the Yamaha motorcycle he had just passed, causing that driver to lose control and fall.

The Yamaha rider and both passenger and driver of the Caravan were injured in the accident, which forced the closing of Highway 84 for three hours while the CHP investigated, McCarthy said.

The high accident rate has prompted the CHP to focus its attention om the area for the past two years, with the help of a federal enforcement grant.

Officers with the County Road Enforcement program have stopped more than 200 cars and motorcycles in unincorporated county areas this year for speeding, improper turns and driving on the wrong side of the road -- leading causes of serious collisions on county roads, according to McCarthy.

At the time of Pfister's accident, County Road Enforcement officers were working on Highway 92, McCarthy said.