Morgan Hill resident Michael Giancola, 40, was killed Saturday
afternoon in a motorcycle accident on Highway 108 while riding
through Yosemite.
Morgan Hill resident Michael Giancola, 40, was killed Saturday afternoon in a motorcycle accident on Highway 108 while riding through Yosemite.
Giancola lost control of the motorcycle when approached by an eastbound 1992 Izuzu pickup fully loaded with firewood driven by Thomas Agnew, 60, of Modesto, according to California Highway Patrol Officer David Chesson.
Giancola was riding westbound on his 1991 Harley-Davidson when he leaned into and failed to negotiate a sweeping curve on the road as he attempted to avoid the on-coming vehicle.
Giancola slid out of control across the double yellow line and was struck head-on by the pickup, according to CHP. The accident remains under investigation.
He was pronounced dead before paramedics could get him into an Air Med helicopter.
“He was an experienced rider,” Chesson said, “and he was wearing his helmet.”
Chesson said Giancola was riding with a number of other motorcyclists when tthe accident occurred west of Kennedy Meadows in Sonora Pass about 50 miles east of Sonora.
California Highway 108, known in cycling circles as the “Motorcycle Ride Highway,” goes from Modesto through Oakdale and Sonora, and over Sonora Pass in Yosemite before ending at US Highway 395 on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada near Bridgeport and Lee Vining.
Giancola, a successful businessman, owned Giancola Concrete and Construction and Diamond Saw Cutting, both San Jose-based firms.
He was described as a loving man who loved to entertain. He was beloved by everyone and everyone loved him, family members and friends said.
He is survived by his parents Cosimo and Angelina Giancola; daughter Melissa; son Michael; brothers John (Charlene), Frank, Tony (Dolores) and Joe (Sheila); aunt and uncle Danny and Lucy Ditri; numerous nieces and newphes and his beloved Sherri Allen.
Vigil Service will be at 7 p.m. Sunday at Lima Family-Erickson Mortuary, 1710 Willow St., San Jose. Funeral Mass will be at 11 a.m. Monday at St. Lucy’s Church, 2350 Winchester Blvd., Campbell.
