It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Cameron Holler, 28, of Sacramento, Ca. On December 13, 2022 in a crash on his way home from work, due to an unknown party leaving a truck tire in the roadway.
A celebration of his Life was held at 12:00pm on December 29th in the Pacific Chapel at the Skylawn Funeral Home & Memorial Park, Hwy 92 at Skyline Blvd., San Mateo, CA. A short graveside ceremony will be held at Cameron's final resting place in the Magnolia Garden of the Skylawn Memorial Park following the celebration of Life.
A reception to remember Cameron and share stories of his life was held in the Vista Room of the Skylawn Funeral Home from 2:30-4:00pm following the burial.
Cameron was born on May 17, 1994 in Palo Alto, CA To Mark A. Holler and Cynthia L. Bickerstaff. He met his loving partner Cynthia Espinoza Lopez on January 27th, 2020 on a stroll in Byxbee park, Palo Alto Ca. They adopted their first dog Rocky a week before Cameron's passing.
Cameron was a skilled motorcycle mechanic who loved vehicles, engines and motoring of all kinds. He owned and drove at least 20 different motorcycles and 10 cars many of which were exceptionally high performance machines. He was a skilled driver who put safety first. None of his accidents were his fault. He started his career at Victor Aviation in Palo Alto and subsequently worked for Cal Moto in Livermore and finally at A&S Motorcycles in Roseville.
He was also a talented fisherman from a very young age and enjoyed the sport wherever he traveled, from California to Hawaii to Wisconsin to the Galapagos. He caught everything from tiny blue gills to a 36 lb. Bull Mahi Mahi.
He was born with a heart valve defect which required valve replacement 3 times over the course of his life. His current valve was still in good shape with his final replacement at least 5 years in the future. His experience of this ongoing challenge gave him an unusual outlook on life. His family and friends knew of his condition and never took his presence for granted. .
Surviving is his loving partner Cynthia Espinoza Lopez of Sacramento, his parents, Mark Holler of Palo Alto and Cindy Bickerstaff of Redwood City, his brother Nathan Holler of Boston, his sister Anjanette Holler of Daly City, his Aunts Janine Whitacre of Oak Ridge Tennessee, Karen Ortiz of Mesa Arizona, Blanche Fowler of Naples Idaho and his Uncle Wayne Bickerstaff of Golden Valley Arizona plus many cousins across the country.
In memory of Cameron Bickerstaff Holler, please consider donating to The Children’s Heart Foundation.
Cameron on the job at A&S Motorcycles in Sacramento working on a Ducati.
He bought this 2022 Ducati Multistrada V4S just 4 weeks before he left us and rode it everyday for 1176 miles total. Ironically he was not riding it the day he passed. After years of flipping bikes and saving he put down $5000 and borrowed another #20,000, to get it as if he knew his days were numbered. I'm glad he did. His favorite color was red. Sixteen of his coworkers drove from Sacramento to attend his funeral. He was loved by all.
He took pride in his work. Here he is with the engine we had just pulled from my Porsche 914. I am very proud of what he had become.
We spent a lot of father/son time together working on vehicles with problems to be solved. Precious time which will always be treasured. The engine replacement we did together in a day on the 914 was one of the last projects we did together. Its running better than ever. Cameron experienced a huge number of vehicles in his time. A catalog of Cameron's Vehicles.
Cameron with his loving partner Cynthia.
Below, Cameron July 2022. One of my last pictures of him.
Their dog Rocky acquired 2 weeks before Cameron's passing has been a solace for us all. The sweetest dog you'll ever meet.
Our whole Family one fine day at Cameron's Graduation.
Cameron with his sister Anjanette.
Having Breakfast at the Palo Alto Creamery. One of our favorite weekend family activities.
Cameron and Nathan, No reptile fears.
Berryessa(left) and Bodega Bay(right) fishing.
He caught this Mahi Mahi in Hawaii April 7, 2004 at age 10.
Cameron had taken up fishing again in the last year. He was an exceptional fisherman from very young. He had keen vision, hearing, and dexterity.
Cameron and Cynthia at the Sacramento River.
Cameron after his first heart operation enjoying attention from his doting mother.
Cameron and Cindy leaving the hospital after his third heart valve replacement at age 18 in 2012. That valve lasted 10 years and was still going strong when he passed but, was going to have to be replaced eventually with an artificial valve.
Cameron and Taso with an engine from one of Taso's cars. Brothers in "tearing things up" They pushed vehicles to their limits. Ride it 'til it breaks. One day they rode the ATVs on Mt. Veeder so hard the crankcases started leaking oil.
Cameron and Cynthia, the picture speaks for itself. Their first date was a walk in Bixby park here in Palo Alto.
I was complicit..... Be careful where you lead your kids. Cameron at age 2.
Same bike same Cameron 20 years later. He souped it up of course. I still have it.
Below is Cameron on a Kawasaki on a track day at Thunder Hill. He was a highly skilled rider with safety always in mind. He always wore full top notch safety gear including the day he passed. He had three accidents in the last year all of which were 100% the fault of the other drivers. I learned in the California Motocycle Safety Course that a motorcyclist is 38 times more likely to die in a vehicle crash than a car driver. He installed new fairings on this bike and set it up specifically for the track.
Posing on one of his BMW S1000s. He was working on a salvaged S1000RR he got from Tad, one of the highest power to weight ratio bikes made, 250 HP, 500lbs.
Below he is on a BMW S1000R he also set up for the track. He was a skilled rider, mentally tough.
Motorcycles weren't just a casual recreation for him. They were his passion. He owned, repaired and rode almost every type of motocycle made, at least 20. Here's a KTM Duke and a Honda CBR.
Cameron with a 20 valve head from a Toyota AGE. Great Grandpa Chizek on the left.
He spent a good amount of time in the hills of Napa on ATVs. Below he was my Driver servicing wireless ag monitoring systems.
The little cart he raced in Southern Cal. on two occasions once taking 2nd place. This was his only racing experience but, he enjoyed it and the process of modifying the cart to be more competitive the second time. The car on the right was a home built by a kid who became a Tesla engineer. It had an Acura engine in the back. Cameron fixed a fuel starvation problem it had and doubled its performance.
Cameron built this VW engine from the ground up, 1.92 liter about 100H.P. I've put 4000 miles on it and its running better than ever. I'll be driving this for the rest of my life with pride.
This was the day we picked up the 68 VW from Antioch for $2000 with Ramon's trailer.
Cameron helping me rebuild a Porsche carburetor.
Hawaian Tuna Charter. He caught the most fish on this charter in heavy seas that kept the rest of the fishermen in the cabin.
Cameron with Rocky, the Boxer Rotweiller mix he and Cynthia acquired on December 4th, 2022. Rocky is still with us every day.
This is the last photo I took of him. He was happy.
First day of school.
He's gone, his passion, his achievement....
Although it was short, his life was one well lived I feel. I'm very proud of what he did and who he had become. I miss him.
Last edited 5/23/23 Mark Holler Send comments and/or pictures and stories to mholler@pacbell.net .
What I think Cameron would want to say if he could.....
Thank you for all the support and tolerance you have provided me throughout my life. It enabled me to experience my life. I consider it a good one. Thank you.
I want to say a special thanks to all the people on the Forest Ave. block for putting up with my endless engine tuning as I hacked out an understanding of what makes an engine perform. And also for their tolerance of my 5:00am engine starts of the Lexus beast with an exhaust base note that penetrated every house on the block. I didn't need to alert everyone to my departure for work everyday. Sorry
I want to thank my scooter gang, Taso, Sergio and John for all the good times in high school “tearing it up”.
I want to thank my close friend and mentor Tad for teaching me about motorcycles, how to build them, and ride them skillfully and safely. The two years we spent together sharing a house with a garage full of motocycle projects in Livermore and days of riding at the Thunder Hill track were some of the best days of my life. Thanks Tad.
I also want to thank you, my partner Cynthia, for all your love and support these few years we have had together. You stabilized my life and brought me great happiness. I miss you.
And finally I want to thank you Mom and Dad for giving me life and enabling me to live it to the fullest. Thank You.
I'm sorry to have left you all so suddenly. It wasn't my choice. Take care and live well.
P.S. I also want to thank all the fish that bit my hook and often provided me dinner.
The tire that was responsible for his death.
Its a very large tire.
Based on the CHP crash report it is clear that a large semi truck tire left in the traffc lane was the cause of Cameron's death. Someone still unknown ahead of Cameron dropped the above 150 lb. Double Coin Semi truck tire in the middle of the road on the I80 West to I5 South connector ramp sometime not long before 5:26pm on December 13, 2022. Cameron's death was the result of a negligent party that neglected to secure this tire.
We have the tire and its serial number and are searching for the responsible party. We are seeking help from the public in this effort. We are offering a significant reward for information leading to the identification of the party that dropped this tire in the roadway. Call for details. Mark Holler 650-799-6571. We believe it is important for parties to be held accountable for their actions and important to communicate to others that failure to secure loads has consequences including the death of other innocent parties.
Dropped on the I80-I5 connector ramp just before 5:26pm Tuesday, 12/13/22.
More tire Pictures and his damaged BMW GS1200 bike
The serial number indicates that the tire was manufactured in October of 2021. Double Coin manufactures tires in Thailand we are told. CHP made an attempt to find the owner as did a private investigator without success but, neither effort was able to find a data base with the serial numbers of Double Coin tires. We believe someone with knowledge of tire distribution and associated data bases will be able to track down the last owner of this tire. Les Schwab is the primary distributor of Double Coin tires in the Sacramento area with over 40 stores. Your help is greatly appreciated.Mark Holler 650-799-6571 (Cameron Holler's Father)