Motorcyclists ignore signs, follow map app, and one crashes; charges pending
Two men on motorcyclists chose to believe a map app about a road being open rather than clear signage saying the road is closed in Death Valley National Park, and one man paid dearly for it.
The National Park Service closed Titus Canyon Road temporarily because of hazardous conditions caused by flood damage, but on Saturday the motorcyclists bypassed a locked gate, concrete barriers and closure signs to ride on Titus Canyon Road.
One man crashed his motorcycle and broke his collarbone. He also sustained other non-life-threatening injuries, and they called 911 on a satellite phone just before sunset.
“Park rangers were not able to reach the injured man in a timely manner due to the road conditions, so they called for helicopter assistance,” a National Park Service press release stated. “The US Navy’s VX-31 helicopter responded from Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake. They transported the injured man and his companion to Ridgecrest Regional Hospital.”
Charges are pending.
Photos of the road closed signs and the damage to Titus Valley Road courtesy of the National Park Service.