A 31-year-old Rochester man was airlifted to a hospital following a crash on northbound U.S. Highway 101 in Pacific County Friday morning, according to a news release from the Washington State Patrol.
Reggie D. Moore was traveling north near mile marker 34 at about 6:15 a.m. when he lost control of his 2007 Honda motorcycle while traveling at a high rate of speed and lost control, coming to rest in the southbound ditch, according to the state patrol.
He was airlifted to PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center in Vancouver, according to the state patrol, though a witness told The Chronicle he was taken to a Portland hospital.
Moore was wearing a helmet at the time. According to the state patrol, it is unknown whether drugs or alcohol played were a factor; however, a witness told The Chronicle a bird strike might have caused the crash.
“A bird strike may have caused him to lose control of the motorcycle,” wrote photographer Ezra McCampbell. “A freshly killed dead bird (swallow) was found at the beginning of the motorcycle’s skid marks left on the road surface from the motorcycle’s tires caused by the motorcycle’s brakes locking up.”
The cause of the crash was listed as speeding too fast for conditions by the state patrol.
