A motorcyclist is dead after a two-vehicle crash on the eastern cusp of St. Thomas.
Elgin OPP were called after the motorcycle and an SUV collided at Elm Street and Coulter Avenue just before 9 p.m. Thursday.
The motorcyclist was rushed to hospital where he was pronounced dead. He has been identified by police as 34-year-old Nicholas Cheeseman of Port Stanley.
The SUV driver was not hurt, police said.
The cause of the crash Thursday night remains under investigation.
It happened on the same day West Region OPP held a news conference about the “alarming” rise in fatal motorcycle collisions.
Including this most recent crash, there have been 13 fatal motorcycle collisions on OPP patrolled roads in southwestern Ontario this year, that is up from seven over the same time period last year.
“The numbers we are seeing in 2022 are, quite frankly, very alarming,” said Inspector Shawn Johnson, West Region OPP’s traffic and marine manager. “Half way through the summer, we are on track to set a record year and that is just unacceptable and we can’t allow that to happen.”
The highest number of motorcycle fatalities recorded in this region in a single year was in 2016 when there were 19 deaths.
