By the edhat staff
A 38-year-old Santa Barbara man died after crashing his motorcycle on Highway 150 near Lake Casitas this week.
At 2:35 p.m. Tuesday, Nicholas Ryan Cooper was riding eastbound on a 2012 Kawasaki Ninja when, for reasons still unknown, crossed over solid double-yellow lines into oncoming traffic as he approached a turn west of Rameli Ranch, according to the California Highway Patrol’s Ventura office.
Cooper collided with a westbound 2022 Mazda CX-9 SUV driven by a 30-year-old Carpinteria woman.
A ground ambulance transported Cooper to the chlorination plant on Highway 150 where a helicopter airlifted him to Ventura County Medical Center. Cooper was later pronounced dead at the hospital.
The woman driving the SUV suffered minor injuries.
CHP had closed traffic lanes for a period of time. The cause of the collision is still under investigation.