UPDATE: Driver and Passenger Identified in Weekend Motorcycle Crash

The two men who died Sunday after a motorcycle struck a guardrail on Magnolia Avenue in Petaluma have been identified, according to police and fire officials.

The deaths are Petaluma's second and third traffic fatalities of 2012. There had not been a traffic fatality in the city in the previous four years, according to police.

The solo motorcycle crash was reported around 2:30 p.m. on Magnolia at Gossage Avenue and Berger Lane, Petaluma Fire Captain Dan Farren said.

Firefighters arriving on the scene found the driver, 36-year-old Richard Wilton of Vallejo, and passenger,  31-year-old Michael "Seamus" Taylor of Petaluma, pinned beneath the guardrail at a point where Magnolia makes a 90-degree turn, Petaluma Police Lt. Tim Lyons said.

Wilton driver appeared to have died on impact, while Taylor remained alive but badly injured, pinned beneath both the motorcycle and the driver, Farren said.

Firefighters cut away a wooden post supporting the guardrail and removed the body and motorcycle from the Taylor's broken leg, allowing him to be transported to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital Trauma Center, Farren said.

However, Taylor died of his injuries while he was being transported, Farren said. The California Highway Patrol initially responded to the collision but Petaluma police took over the investigation after the collision was determined to have occurred within city boundaries.

Both drivers were wearing helmets, according to Lyons. An initial investigation and witness reports suggest speed was a factor in the crash, Lyons said.

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