BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KBAK/KBFX) — The Kern County Coroner’s Office has identified the motorcyclist who died on Highway 155 as 36-year-old Michael Hayden Mollenauer of Bodfish.
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The California Highway Patrol said on Friday, June 5, 2026, at around 1:05 p.m., officers were called to Highway 155, north of Keysville Road, for a report of a crash involving a flatbed truck and a motorcycle.
CHP said a preliminary investigation found that Mollenauer was riding a 2006 Honda 600 RX motorcycle northbound on Highway 155, north of Keysville Road, at an unknown rate of speed. A 39-year-old man was driving a 2014 Freightliner flatbed truck southbound on Highway 155, north of Keysville Road, at around 45 to 50 mph.
As the Honda and Freightliner approached one another, the Honda traveled to the left, crossed the solid double-yellow lines, and entered the southbound lane, where it collided with the left front side of the Freightliner.
The impact caused the rider of the Honda to be ejected from the motorcycle in a northeasterly direction onto the roadway of Highway 155. The force of the crash also caused the Honda motorcycle to travel in a northeasterly direction before coming to rest on the roadway.
Mollenauer was taken to Kern Valley Hospital where he later died.
CHP said it is unknown whether alcohol and/or drugs were factors.