An Escalon man was identified as the victim in a fatal solo motorcycle crash on Sunday, April 6 in the Knights Ferry area.

According to the California Highway Patrol, the crash occurred shortly before noon.

The CHP received a call of a traffic crash on Orange Blossom Road, east of Orange Blossom Court between Oakdale and Knights Ferry at 11:55 a.m. Sunday. Emergency personnel arrived on scene and located a 2018 Triumph motorcycle with collision damage on the south shoulder. The rider, identified by the Stanislaus County Coroner’s Office as Michael Becker, 41, of Escalon, was located a short distance away on the south shoulder. He was transported by ground ambulance to Oak Valley Hospital in Oakdale where he later succumbed to his injuries.

The preliminary CHP investigation indicated that the rider was traveling eastbound on Orange Blossom Road, just east of Orange Blossom Court, approaching a left bend in the roadway. Becker allowed the motorcycle to leave the south road edge as it traversed the bend in the roadway. The motorcycle struck a raised asphalt curb before colliding with a fence. The rider was ejected and came to rest on the south shoulder of the roadway.

Authorities said Becker was wearing a helmet at the time of the collision. It is unknown at this time if drugs and/or alcohol contributed to this crash, said the CHP.