Driver pleads not guilty in crash that killed motorcyclist

A Sonoma County woman pleaded not guilty Thursday to murder and vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated in connection with a wrong-way driving collision that killed a motorcyclist in August.

Sherry Risch, 53, was driving a 2005 Kia south on northbound U.S. Highway 101 when she collided with a northbound Honda van north of Airport Boulevard north of Santa Rosa around 12:10 a.m. Aug. 3, the California Highway Patrol said.

The Honda came to rest in the center divider and Risch’s Kia stopped in the two left lanes.

Motorcycle rider Daniel Adams, 56, of Windsor, was ejected when his motorcycle and the Kia collided and he died, according to the CHP.

Risch also is charged with DUI involving a drug. She is being held in the Sonoma County jail and is scheduled for a preliminary hearing in January.

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