Motorcyclist dies, another seriously injured, in Highway 9 crash

A motorcycle rider was killed and another seriously injured in a Sunday morning traffic collision on Highway 9, approximately 6 miles north of downtown Boulder Creek.
Andrew Nolten, a 29-year-old Campbell resident, was killed instantly when the motorcycle he was riding crossed over the double-yellow lines and was struck head-on by a Honda sport-utility vehicle in the northbound lane, according to the California Highway Patrol.
He was ejected from his 2000 Suzuki motorcycle and collided with the roadway. He was pronounced dead on impact at the scene.
Nolten, a Felton native and 2002 graduate of San Lorenzo Valley High School, was riding with a group of other motorcyclists southbound along Highway 9 at 11:16 a.m. April 13 when the collision took place.
The second motorcyclist involved, a 63-year-old Aptos man, was airlifted to a Bay Area hospital with major injuries after Nolten’s rider-less motorcycle was struck by a second vehicle that was behind the Honda SUV in the northbound lane. The collision launched the Nolten’s bike back into the southbound lane, where the man’s 2009 Honda motorcycle collided with it, ejecting the Aptos man.
Highway 9 was closed between McGaffigan Mill and Saratoga Toll roads for about 2 hours while emergency personnel attended to the involved parties and CHP officers investigated the scene.
The drivers and passengers of the vehicles involved in the crash were uninjured, according to CHP Officer Bradley Sadek, who said that an investigation into the crash is being conducted.
A private memorial service is scheduled to be held this weekend.