HUNTINGTON BEACH : 2 Hurt in Crash Still Hospitalized

A 13-year-old boy was in serious although improved condition but his father remained in critical condition Monday after their motorcycle rammed into the rear of a stopped car in Huntington Beach over the weekend, hospital officials said.

The boy, Michael Sonne of Encino, had been in critical condition after the Sunday afternoon accident, with head trauma and various internal injuries, but he has shown signs of improvement, UCI Medical Center spokeswoman Fran Tardiff said Monday. His condition was downgraded to serious.

His father, Barry R. Sonne, 45, however, was still on the critical list with head trauma injuries and fractures.

“But their vital signs are pretty stable,” Tardiff said.

Sonne and his son were driving on Pacific Coast Highway near the Santa Ana River bridge when a Fullerton driver stopped to make a right turn onto a service road that had been blocked off by a chain, police said.

A vehicle behind the Fullerton driver stopped to avoid hitting him, but Sonne failed to stop and hit the second vehicle, police said. Sonne and his son were thrown from the motorcycle and onto the service road, police said. The father was not wearing a helmet.

Their injuries were compounded when the Fullerton driver--apparently unaware that the cyclists had landed in front of him--continued to make the right turn, knocking a barrier onto the father and dragging the boy about 100 feet. No citations have been issued.