5 motorcycle fatalities in Volusia, 1 in St. Johns, officials report

DAYTONA BEACH — A motorcyclist was killed in a crash with a pickup truck Sunday, making him the area’s sixth motorcycle fatality during Bike Week 2022.

The crash occurred on the last day of the event at around 11:30 a.m. at Ridgewood and Mason avenues in Daytona Beach. The rider died at the scene, police said.

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The heavily damaged motorcycle lay in the road in front of the pickup truck; the rider’s helmet was not far from the crash.

Sunday’s fatality was the fifth reported in Volusia County. A sixth motorcyclist, a Palm Coast man, was also killed in a crash in St. Johns County during the 10-day Daytona Bike Week.

The first two motorcycle fatalities were reported by the Florida Highway Patrol on March 5. That crash occurred at 10:35 p.m. at West New York Avenue/State Road 44 and Eau Claire Avenue near DeLand.

In that accident, troopers said a Toyota Corolla driven by a 41-year-old Orlando man left the eastbound lane of SR 44 and plowed into two of three motorcycles that were westbound on the same road.

The driver of one motorcycle and his passenger were killed in the wreck and the driver of a second motorcycle suffered serious injuries, investigating troopers said.

The driver of the third motorcycle tried to avoid getting hit and laid the motorcycle in the road. He suffered minor injuries, troopers said.

Troopers responded to a second motorcycle fatality on March 9. A Volusia County deputy came upon the crash on Pioneer Trail near New Smyrna around 4:30 a.m. The motorcycle ran off the road and struck a culvert, ejecting the rider, a 42-year-old man from Pembroke Pines, the FHP said.

On March 7, Port Orange police responded to a third motorcycle fatality. Police Sgt. William Harrison said the crash occurred in the 1700 block of Dunlawton Avenue around 4:12 p.m. Police said the rider died at the scene of the crash.

Also on March 7, a 39-year-old Palm Coast motorcyclist died after hitting an SUV at the intersection of State Road 206 and U.S. 1 in St. Johns County, according to the FHP.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Daytona Bike Week: Six motorcyclists killed in Florida during event