Mike Russell
July 10, 2005
Motorcycle Accident



clip from: http://www.gjsentinel.com/
Kansan dies in motorcycle accident

Sunday, July 10, 2005

By MARIJA B. VADER

The Daily Sentinel

A 50-year-old Hutchinson, Kan., man died Saturday afternoon when his motorcycle slid beneath a pickup truck on U.S. Highway 50 between Montrose and Gunnison.
The man, riding a 2004 Harley-Davidson motorcycle, was wearing a helmet, as was his passenger, a woman.
The woman was transported to St. Mary’s Hospital with a broken pelvis and other bones, said Gunnison County Coroner Frank Vader.
Names were withheld pending notification of family.
The motorcycle was traveling eastbound when it came into a curve in the canyon just east of the Arrowhead turnoff. Entering the corner westbound was a pickup, camper and trailer, driven by a Delta man, Vader said.
The motorcyclist was leaning into the curve when he leaned too far and slid beneath the pickup, the coroner said.
“He leaned way over. There was metal on pavement. He skidded right in front of the pickup and the pickup ran them over,” Vader said.
As for the pickup driver, “It was certainly no fault of his,” Vader said. “His vehicle remained in his lane.”
The accident took place at 1:32 p.m. at mile marker 124, inside the Gunnison County line.



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Hutch man killed in motorcycle accident

By The News Staff

www.hutchnews.com

A Hutchinson man was killed and the passenger on his motorcycle injured during a collision with a pick-up truck Saturday on a Colorado highway. Michael D. Russell, 50, was driving a Harley Davidson motorcycle east on U.S. 50 in Little Blue Canyon, near Gunnison, with Cathaleen Hoffman, 42, Hutchinson. According to the Colorado State Patrol report, Russell had trouble navigating a curve, and drove over the double yellow median lines and into the westbound lane of traffic. The motorcycle rolled one-quarter revolution on its right side, slid and collided with the pick-up truck pulling a utility trailer with a four-wheeler. Both Russell and Hoffman were pinned under the truck. Hoffman was transported to Montrose Hospital, and then flown to St. Mary's Hospital, Grand Junction, where she was listed in fair condition Monday night. Both Russell and Hoffman were wearing motorcycle helmets and eye protection. The driver of the truck, La Donna Coleman, Delta, Co., was not injured. According to the patrol report, no alcohol was involved in the accident.