ROLLER-SKATING STRIPPER?

Local jazz musician injured after leaping from burning motor home

By Layla Bohm

A jazz musician was injured Friday after jumping from a burning motor home driven by a one-time roller skating stripper from Lodi.

Francis Courtney, 60, a guitarist and singer for Stockton-based "Cradle of Sound," leaped from the motor home on the Highway 99 overpass at Peltier Road shortly before noon.

Francis Courtney is taken away by a San Joaquin County medic after he jumped from a moving 1979 Commander RV on Friday afternoon at the Highway 99 overpass at Peltier Road in Woodbridge. (Brian Feulner/News-Sentinel)
In the process, the 1979 motor home's brakes failed and the driver, Anthony "Tony" Luccketta, 49, had to stop the vehicle by crashing into a fence.

Courtney, whose band opened for BB King on New Year's Eve in Stockton, was taken by ambulance to Lodi Memorial Hospital with minor injuries, said California Highway Patrol Officer Roberto Iniguez.

Luccketta, who is still known for his roller skating stripper gig but now focuses on playing music, was not injured. There was no sign of alcohol involvement, Iniguez said, and the Coors Light beer can on the motorhome's dashboard appeared to be a decoration.

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