A Morgan Hill motorcycle officer is recovering from minor injuries after he was involved in a traffic accident south of town Jan. 10, according to police.
The accident occurred just after 4pm in the southbound lane of Monterey Road just after Watsonville Road, while MHPD was assisting other departments in closing the road in response to an unrelated gas leak farther south, according to authorities. PG&E asked police to close the road in the area of the gas leak, near California Avenue, to facilitate repairs.
MHPD Sgt. Carlos Guerrero said employees from the city’s department of public works had just finished placing cones in the far right southbound lane on Monterey Road from Watsonville Road to Middle Avenue. The purpose of the lane closure was to divert Monterey Road vehicle traffic onto Middle Avenue, around the site of the gas leak.
MHPD Traffic Officer John Kuhlen began driving his department motorcycle in the closed lane from Watsonville Road to John Wilson Way. At the 15300 block of Monterey Road, an SUV “made a quick right turn” from the open southbound lane, across the closed lane toward the driveway of a residence on the west side of Monterey Road, Guerrero said.
As the SUV crossed the closed lane, in which Kuhlen was riding, the vehicle struck Kuhlen and his motorcycle, Guerrero said. The collision knocked Kuhlen onto the roadway.
Kuhlen suffered a pain to his hip as a result of the collision, and he was transported by ambulance to a nearby hospital, Guerrero said. He was later released from the hospital with minor injuries.
Guerrero expects Kuhlen to be back on duty within a week.
The California Highway Patrol is investigating the accident.
