Man dies in Tuesday 2-vehicle crash

Nita Johnson, The Sentinel Echo, London, Ky.
·2 min read

Jun. 21—An East Bernstadt man became the third traffic fatality related death of 2022 in Laurel County.

Edward Markham, 55, was pronounced dead at the scene of the two-vehicle crash on U.S. 25, two miles north of London, early Tuesday morning, according to the Laurel County Coroner's Office.

According to information from the Laurel County Sheriff's Office, Markham was operating a Harley Davidson motorcycle southbound along U.S. 25 when it collided with a southbound Kenworth tractor trailer that was pulling from a business parking lot onto U.S. 25. The driver of the tractor trailer was 63-year-old John Davis of London, who was not injured in the crash.

Heading the investigation is the Laurel County Sheriff's Office, who was assisted at the scene by Ambulance Inc. of Laurel County, London Laurel Rescue Squad, East Bernstadt Fire and Rescue, Kentucky State Police Commercial Vehicle Enforcement and the Laurel County Coroner's office.

This is the third fatality in the county this year. The first took place on Feb. 25 and involved a pedestrian v. vehicle. The second occurred on April 11 when a Manchester man crossed the centerline of East KY 80 and struck a Freightliner truck head-on.

2022 has marked the lowest number of traffic fatalities in the county over the past several years. By this date in 2021, there had already been 6 deaths from traffic related incidents. By June 2020, there had been three deaths, although 13 people died from traffic accidents that year. In 2019, there had been four traffic fatalities by May 20. In 2018, there was an extraordinarily high number of traffic-related deaths, with a triple fatality in March and 12 deaths by early May. That year lists one of the highest number of traffic fatalities for the county, with a total of 18 people losing their lives that year.