BRAD HORN/Nevada Appeal A Nevada Highway Patrol trooper walks by the remains of the California motorcyclist killed in a wreck west of Spooner Summit on Friday.
SPOONER SUMMIT - A California motorcyclist was killed and his passenger was injured in a wreck west of Spooner Summit on Friday evening.
Trooper Todd Hartline of the Nevada Highway Patrol said the unidentified motorcyclist was eastbound on Highway 50 West when he apparently struck the guardrail just more than a mile from the summit about 6:35 p.m.
"The passenger was ejected and his neck hit the guardrail, decapitating him (the driver)," Hartline said.
The blue Harley-Davidson then "righted itself" and "ghost rode" for another 200 feet before crossing both east and westbound lanes and ending up 50 feet down a ravine in Glenbrook Canyon.
Kristina Citro, 45, of Newport Beach, Calif., was found by rescuers with an apparent broken leg lying in the brush on the other side of the guardrail. She was conscious and talking when taken from the mountain by helicopter to Washoe Medical Center.
The accident closed both directions of travel for about 20 minutes until troopers could open one lane in each direction.
Hartline said it's unclear why the motorcyclist struck the guardrail.
"There was no braking. The first sign of the accident is on the guardrail," he said.
• Contact reporter F.T. Norton at ftnorton@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1213.