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CEDAR CITY — A man died in a motorcycle wreck Friday on the freeway near Cedar City, and police are investigating whether windy conditions may have contributed to the crash.
The man was driving a motorcycle northbound on I-15 around 4 p.m. when he lost control about 10 miles south of Cedar City, said Utah Highway Patrol trooper Jared Cornia. The man and a female passenger were both thrown from the 1995 Harley-Davidson when it veered to the side of the freeway and rolled several times, Cornia said.
The man, whose name and age were not immediately released, was killed. The woman was airlifted to Dixie Regional Medical Center in serious condition.
Both crash victims were wearing helmets. Police don't believe excessive speed contributed to the crash.
"There (were) some high winds in the area at the time," Cornia said. "(We) are looking into that as a possible factor."
The man had passed another vehicle just moments before and was changing lanes when the motorcycle "began to wobble," drifted to the right and then rolled, the Utah Highway Patrol said in a statement.
A second, related crash occurred soon afterward and was "maybe a result of traffic slowing down" following the motorcycle crash, according to Cornia. The trooper didn't have additional details about that crash, except that it resulted in minor injuries.
Contributing: Geoffrey Thatcher
