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City Beat
WG event organizer is killed in traffic accident
By Kate Carter
A San Martin man who helped set up events in Willow Glen and throughout the Bay Area died on May 24, when he lost control of his motorcycle while driving on Interstate 280, just north of Willow Glen.
Ronald L. Cook, 38, was driving his 1991 Harley Davidson southbound, in the second lane from the left, according to a California Highway Patrol report. At just before 3 p.m., Cook was near the Bird Avenue exit, traveling at between 45 and 50 miles per hour when his motorcycle hit the ground and ejected Cook into the left lane, the report said.
CHP spokesman Gary Hagen said the department believes no vehicles struck Cook and that no other vehicles were involved in the crash. He said Cook was wearing a helmet, but sustained major injuries and was taken by ambulance to San Jose Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
The coroner's office said the autopsy report with the cause of death would not be completed for another six to eight weeks.
Hagen said the CHP is continuing to investigate and expects to learn the reason for the accident in the next few weeks.
The CHP dispatch office said traffic southbound on Interstate 280 was closed after the accident, until about 3:20 p.m., after which only the left lane was kept closed.
Cook was co-owner of Gilroy's Stages Unlimited since it opened in 1987, said co-owner and Cook's ex-wife, Katie Cook. The company set up the stages, bleachers, tents and lighting for Willow Glen's Dancin' on the Avenue and Founders Day in past years, Katie Cook said. It also sets up San Jose's Music in the Park, Tapestry and Talent, SoFa street fair and the downtown outdoor winter ice rink, she said, as well as at the Santa Clara County Fair, Gilroy's Garlic Festival and Shoreline's Bill Graham Presents.
"He was very creative, he had a good sense of humor," Cook said. "He was well-liked by his peers."
She said he had been riding his motorcycle for the past few years and there was no explanation yet for the accident.
The funeral was held on May 31, in Morgan Hill.
Ron Cook is survived by his parents, Ron and Jeanine Cook of Antioch; five siblings; and his children Jonathon, 17, Kacey, 15, and Maggie, 7, of Morgan Hill.
To provide more information about the accident, call the CHP at 408.467.5400.
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Willow Glen, California Since 1992
