Motorcyclist spotted driving 177 km/h before fatal accident in Northern Michigan

CHARLEVOIX COUNTY, MI – A Michigan man who died in a motorcycle crash was traveling about 110 mph when the incident occurred, according to witnesses.

Michigan State Police in Gaylord responded to the scene of a three-vehicle crash that occurred on July 6 at 9:48 p.m. on Thumb Lake Road near Springbrook Road in Boyne Valley Township in Charlevoix County.

The motorcyclist, a 40-year-old man from Elmira, was taken to McLaren Hospital in Petoskey, where he succumbed to his injuries.

Several witnesses, including a Petoskey police officer who attempted to make a traffic stop, said they saw the motorcycle traveling at a high rate of speed on U.S. 131 before the accident was reported on Thumb Lake Road.

According to police, a 68-year-old Kalkaska man was traveling west on Thumb Lake Road in a Ford F-250 with an enclosed trailer. The driver said he heard the motorcycle strike the side of his trailer.

A 54-year-old Mancelona woman was driving a Ford F-150 eastbound on Thumb Lake Road when she felt and heard something slam into the back of her truck. She realized she had been struck from behind by a motorcycle and pulled over, police reported.

Another witness said she saw a motorcycle cross a double yellow line while traveling east on Thumb Lake Road at an estimated 100 mph. Shortly after the motorcycle passed, she heard a loud noise and saw debris in the air, police said.

Officers were assisted at the scene by the Charlevoix County Sheriff’s Office, Boyne Valley Township Emergency Medical Services and Jordan Valley Emergency Medical Services.