74-year-old Georgia man crashes on Blue Ridge Parkway, the 5th biker fatality of year

Mark Price
·2 min read

A 74-year-old Georgia man was killed in a crash on the Blue Ridge Parkway on Sunday, marking the popular route’s fifth fatal motorcycle accident of 2021.

The biker was identified as George Wayne Harkins of Senoia, Georgia, according to the National Park Service.

Harkins died at the scene, officials said.

The crash occurred around 4 p.m. Sunday near Milepost 348.5, about a half-mile from the Rough Ridge Tunnel, investigators say. The area is west of Marion, North Carolina.

“Mr. Harkins was riding north with a group of motorcyclists, when he lost control in a curve and left the roadway,” NPS officials said. “No additional details are available at this time.”

The American Legion Post 57 in Newnan, Georgia, reports Harkins was “on his way home from a ride with friends” at the time of the crash.

He was also a member of the Coweta Veterans Club. “George Harkins passed away yesterday doing what he loved, riding in the Blue Ridge mountains,” the club wrote on Facebook. “He was a friend to all and a pillar of the community and will absolutely be missed.”

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Harkins’ death is the seventh fatality this year on the parkway and the fifth involving a motorcycle, according to releases from the Blue Ridge Parkway.

  • Motorcyclist Shawn Emory, 38, of Weaverville, died on July 31 after “he lost control and over corrected,” before running into a guardrail, NPS officials said.

  • Larry McElroy, 70, and his passenger Brenda McElroy, 71, of Georgia, were killed June 22 when their motorcycle “crossed into the northbound lane, hitting the oncoming van” in North Carolina, officials said.

  • Matthew Gauck, 22, died May 23 on a stretch of the parkway through Virginia when his motorcycle crashed while “traveling at a high rate of speed,” park officials said.

The Blue Ridge Parkway is a narrow, winding two-lane blacktop that continues uninterrupted 469 miles through Virginia and North Carolina. It has been dubbed “America’s favorite drive” by the National Park Service.

Last year, 14 million people visited the parkway, making it among the most popular destinations managed by the National Park Service.

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