FRANKLIN COUNTY, Idaho — A 21-year-old Preston man died Friday afternoon after his motorcycle collided with a commercial semi-truck making a wide turn near the Utah/Idaho line, according to the Idaho State Police.
Emergency responders were dispatched at approximately 12:47 p.m. to the scene of the fatal collision on near 3600 South State Street in Preston.
According to an initial investigation by state police, a 65-year-old man from Newton was driving a Kenworth semi-truck pulling double trailers southbound along State Street. As the commercial vehicle prepared to execute a wide right turn, the driver moved the semi into the northbound lane to create sufficient clearance for the trailers.
At the same time, the 21-year-old man was riding a Kawasaki VN900 motorcycle southbound behind the semi-truck. When the semi swung outward, the motorcyclist attempted to pass the larger vehicle on the right side. The two vehicles collided as the semi turned across the roadway.
Paramedics transported the motorcyclist to a local hospital, where he later succumbed to his injuries. Troopers confirmed the motorcyclist was wearing a helmet during the crash. The driver of the semi-truck was not wearing a seat belt and was not reported injured. Authorities have not yet publicly released the identities of either driver pending family notification.
The fatal crash and on-scene investigation blocked traffic along the corridor for nearly three hours while emergency crews cleared the wreckage and investigators documented the site.
The fatal incident remains under active investigation by the Idaho State Police.
Friday’s crash occurred days after a similar fatal motorcycle crash Sunday, Oct. 25. A 53-year-old Logan man died and two people were injured when his motorcycle broadsided an SUV on U.S. Highway 91 near Richmond. According to the Utah Highway Patrol, Gonzalo Rosalio Grajeda was traveling southbound on a Harley-Davidson when he struck a Ford Expedition driven by Savannah May Wickham, 25, of Beaver Dam, as she attempted to cross the highway at 11600 North. Grajeda, who was not wearing a helmet, was pronounced dead at the scene, while Wickham and her severely injured passenger, 52-year-old Stephen Benjamin Wickham, were hospitalized as troopers investigate whether excessive motorcycle speed contributed to the collision.