Wisconsin motorcyclist dies after striking stray cow
A Wisconsin man is dead after he crashed his motorcycle into a stray cow that was in the roadway on Saturday night. According to a Pierce County press release, the man was from Arkansaw, Wisconsin and was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash. The Pierce County Sheriff’s Department were called to a motorcycle versus livestock […]
A Wisconsin man is dead after he crashed his motorcycle into a stray cow that was in the roadway on Saturday night.
According to a Pierce County press release, the man was from Arkansaw, Wisconsin and was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash.
The Pierce County Sheriff’s Department were called to a motorcycle versus livestock crash with injury at 8:49 p.m. April 15, according to an article that was posted on the WQOW website. “The department responded near the intersection of Cty Tk S and Cty Tk X in Rock Elm Township.”
David Alan Kelch, who was 56-years-old, was reportedly driving a 2005 Honda motorcycle south on Cty Tk S when he struck the cow, which was apparently in the middle of the road.
“Elmwood EMS arrived on scene and attempted to transport Kelch from the scene, but Kelch died before reaching the hospital,” the article reads.
Wisconsin Livestock laws require that no livestock shall run at large on a highway at any time except to go from one farm parcel to another.
“If the owner or keeper of livestock knowingly permits livestock to run at large on a highway, except when going from one farm parcel to another, and after notice by any peace officer fails to remove the livestock from the highway, the owner or keeper may be fined not more than $200.”
Other Wisconsin livestock laws have strict regulations in regards to required fencing of livestock animals.
There’s no mention in the article about whether the cow suffered injuries as a result of the crash or if someone is facing charges in connection to the fatal incident.
The crash remains under investigation by the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office.
The Milwaukee Wisconsin Journal-Sentinel published an article in 2015 showing that state records reported fatal motorcycle crashes were up 15 percent compared to the year before.
“There have been 39 motorcyclist fatalities in the first six months of the year, up from 34 for the same period in 2014. If the pattern holds, state officials say, this could be the deadliest year for motorcycle crashes since 2012, when 44 people were killed in the first six months of the year and 112 died in the 12-month period.”
The numbers had fallen to 83 deaths in 2013 and 67 in 2014.
Between 2009 and 2013, an average of 2,376 motorcycle crashes were reported to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, an average of 91 motorcyclists died each year, and an average of 2,161 motorcyclists were injured on Wisconsin roads.
