Lompoc authorities have identified the motorcyclist killed in a collision on Tuesday afternoon as 53-year-old Sean Birdsell. The fatal crash occurred around 4:10 p.m. at the intersection of West Ocean Avenue and South Bailey Avenue.
According to the California Highway Patrol (CHP), the incident unfolded when an 83-year-old woman driving a pickup truck came to a stop at the intersection’s stop sign on South Bailey Avenue. She then proceeded into the roadway, directly into the path of Birdsell, who was traveling eastbound on a Honda motorcycle along West Ocean Avenue.
The impact of the collision was severe, and emergency responders pronounced Birdsell dead at the scene. Santa Barbara County Fire Department officials confirmed that the driver of the pickup truck was not injured in the crash.
Following the incident, West Ocean Avenue remained closed between Floradale Avenue and South V Street for approximately an hour and 40 minutes as investigators worked to process the scene.
The CHP is actively investigating the circumstances surrounding the crash and urges anyone with additional information to contact their office at (805) 691-6160.
Lompoc is a city in Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Located on the Central Coast, its population was 43,834 as of July 2021. Lompoc has been inhabited for thousands of years by the Chumash people, who called the area lumpo’oÌ¥, meaning ‘in the cheeks’ in the local Purisimeño language.
