TARRATS, Michael John

West Valley View December 20, 2000 Michael John Tarrats, Jr., 20, of Peoria, died after he lost control of his 1996 Suzuki motorcycle and was thrown from a 60-foot-tall freeway ramp, said DPS spokesman Andy Vidaure. The body of a motorcyclist found last week near Loop 101 and Interstate 10 may have lain unseen for more than eight hours, Department of Public Safety investigators believe. DPS investigators believe Tarrats may have wrecked sometime around 11:30 p.m. Dec. 12, 2000, although the first report of the incident did not come until 7:40 the next morning, Vidaure said. Tarrats' body was found slumped next to a retaining wall directly below the northbound Loop 101 ramp. Police found Tarrats' motorcycle nearly a mile from where he lost control. DPS investigators believe that after Tarrats was thrown from the motorcycle, it continued along the ramp, coming to rest in a culvert on Loop 101. Neither the motorcycle nor Tarrats' body was seen in the darkness, Vidaure said. DPS investigators believe alcohol was a factor in the accident, Vidaure said. Tarrats was apparently on his way home Dec. 12 after spending the evening with friends in Goodyear when the accident happened, Vidaure said. Tarrats was wearing a helmet when he wrecked, Vidaure said. The Tolleson Police Department received the first report of the incident, Vidaure said. It passed the information to the DPS, which has jurisdiction in the area. DPS is investigating the accident.