Sacramento woman dies on her birthday in motorcycle crash in south Napa County
A 36-year-old Sacramento woman was killed Tuesday in a motorcycle crash on Highway 12 east of Kelly Road in south Napa County.
Brittany Racquel Rankins, whose birthday was Tuesday, was riding in the back of the motorcycle, traveling east on Highway 12 at about 1:50 p.m., when the motorcycle collided with a black Honda Accord, according to the California Highway Patrol and the Napa County Coroner’s Office. The Honda Accord was in the right-hand lane.
Rankins was ejected into the roadway and was struck by a passing semi-truck also traveling in the right lane, according to the CHP. She was declared dead at the scene.
The motorcyclist, who suffered major injuries, was airlifted by CHP helicopter to Queen of the Valley Medical Center. The person’s name has not been released. No one else was injured.
The motorcycle was “splitting traffic between the two lanes of travel,” according to the CHP.
The incident remains under investigation, CHP Officer Marc Renspurger said Wednesday.
The drivers of the two other vehicles remained on the scene; they cooperated fully with the investigators, according to the CHP.
The eastbound lanes on Highway 12 were closed for about 90 minutes.
