4 cycle crashes within 8 hours kill 3, injure 2
6/10/2008Three northwest Ohio men died and two other people were hurt Sunday in four motorcycle crashes in Huron, Ottawa, Williams, and Henry counties - all within the span of eight hours.
None of the victims was wearing a helmet, authorities said yesterday.
A Milan Township man was fatally injured near Huron, a Shelby man was killed near Port Clinton, and a Napoleon man was killed in Stryker, all in single-motorcycle crashes.
A man and a woman, both of Deshler, Ohio, were hurt when their motorcycle hit a deer near the village.
The Milan Township man died after the motorcycle he was driving crashed Sunday afternoon south of Huron.
Thomas Shaffoe, 62, the crash victim, was pronounced dead about a half-hour later, at 4:49 p.m., at Fisher-Titus Medical Center in Norwalk. The crash occurred about 4:20 p.m. on State Rt. 13 near Alpine Trail in Erie County's Milan Township.
Mr. Shaffoe was driving a 2007 Harley Davidson Electra Glide north on Route 13 when he failed to round a left curve, went off the right side of the road, overturned, and struck a bush. The cause of the accident was under investigation yesterday, troopers said.
The Shelby man was killed when the motorcycle he was driving crashed Sunday night west of Port Clinton, closing a ramp for an hour, authorities said.
Timothy Schumacher, 55, was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the Ohio Highway Patrol in Columbus.
The crash happened about
6:40 p.m. on the eastbound entrance ramp from State Rt. 163 to State Rt. 2 in Ottawa County's Portage Township.
Mr. Schumacher was driving a 2000 Harley Davidson Sportster on the ramp when he failed to round a curve and drove off the right side of the ramp, causing the motorcycle to strike a guardrail. The cause of the accident was under investigation yesterday, troopers said.
The Napoleon man was killed late Sunday when the motorcycle he was operating crashed on West Lynn Street in Stryker, authorities said.
John Bowers, 36, who was thrown off the motorcycle, was pronounced dead at the scene, Stryker police said. The crash occurred about 11:10 p.m.
Mr. Bowers was westbound on West Lynn, apparently at a high rate of speed, when the 2005 Kawasaki ZXI 1100 went off the south side of the road, police said.
The motorcycle struck the embankment, at which time the driver lost control of the vehicle. The motorcycle then hit a tree and the base of a concrete traffic sign.
The accident also remains under investigation.
The man and woman from Deshler were hurt, at least one of them seriously, late Sunday when both were thrown off their motorcycle when it struck a deer north of Deshler, authorities said.
Wendy Hoops, 38, of Deshler, the passenger, was flown by a medical helicopter to St. Vincent Mercy Medical Center, Toledo, according to the Henry County Sheriff's Office. A hospital spokesman said yesterday morning that she had no information about a person with that name.
The motorcycle operator, Timothy Grince, 41, also of Deshler, was taken by ground ambulance to Wood County Hospital, Bowling Green, where his condition was also unavailable.
The crash happened about 11:40 p.m. on Henry County Road 1, just north of Henry County Road J in Richfield Township.
The 2008 Honda MC was southbound on Road 1 when it struck a deer that had run onto the road, sheriff's deputies said.
Contact Mike Sigov at:
sigov@theblade.com
or 419-724-6050.