Tuolumne County, CA—The CHP has released the name of the motorcycle rider who died after smashing into a tree on Highway 108 this past Friday (5/15/26).
The deceased is 26-year-old Samuel Wesley Barton from Ames, Iowa. As we reported here, while riding a 2013 Suzuki motorcycle westbound on the highway, east of Clarks Ford Road, the rider allowed the motorcycle to travel off the south shoulder, where it crashed into a tree, according to CHP officials. Barton was pronounced dead at the scene.
The CHP noted that alcohol or drugs are not suspected to be a factor in this crash, which remains under investigation.
