Yesterday’s police activity on Big Bear Boulevard at Fox Farm Road was due to a fatal collision, which took place just before noon (September 7). The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department’s Major Accident Investigation Team was on scene in the afternoon, at the intersection just in front of CVS, until the evening hours to investigate the incident which ultimately took the life of longtime Big Bear City resident Fred Ransom, age 78, whose 200 Suzuki GSXR 1000 motorcycle collided with the 1987 Ford F150 pickup being driven by 18-year-old Jeremiah Lapham of Big Bear City. Per the press release issued by the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department: “The motorcyclist (Ransom) was riding south on Big Bear Boulevard in the number one lane approaching the intersection at Fox Farm Road. The driver of the pickup (Lapham) was northbound on Big Bear Boulevard in the left-hand turn lane, preparing to turn west onto Fox Farm Road. As the pickup entered the intersection making its turning movement, the motorcycle collided with its right side. The motorcyclist was transported by ambulance to the Big Bear airport and then flown to the Loma Linda University Medical Center with major head and other blunt force trauma. He was pronounced deceased shortly after his arrival. The driver of the pickup was not injured. This collision has been referred to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department Major Accident Investigation Team and the exact cause of the collision is under investigation.” The truck’s driver Jeremiah Lapham, a Big Bear City Fire Explorer since 14 with plans to attend EMT school this year, tended to Ransom until paramedics arrived.
