Virginia motorcyclist becomes 6th biker to die in crash on Blue Ridge Parkway in 2021

Mark Price
·1 min read

For the sixth time this year, the Blue Ridge Parkway is reporting a fatal traffic accident involving a motorcycle.

The victim was identified as Craig Dickerson, 58, of Roanoke, Virginia, the National Park Service said in a release.

The accident happened around 5:30 p.m. Saturday, near Milepost 171 in Virginia, officials said. The area is near the Chateau Morrisette Winery and Restaurant, Virtual Blue Ridge reports.

Investigators say Dickerson was driving north when his motorcycle ran off the pavement. He “was ejected and sustained serious injuries,” officials said.

“Mr. Dickerson was transported by ambulance to Carillion New River Valley Medical Center in Radford, and later to Roanoke Memorial Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries,” the park service said.

There have been eight traffic fatalities on the parkway this year, and six have involved motorcyclist and their passengers, according to reports.

  • On Aug. 8, George Wayne Harkins of Senoia, Georgia, died after he lost control of his motorcycle and crashed near Milepost 348.5, in North Carolina. He was riding with a group of motorcyclists, officials said.

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

  • Larry McElroy, 70, and a passenger, Brenda McElroy, 71, of Georgia, died June 22 when their motorcycle “crossed into the northbound lane, hitting the oncoming van” in N.C., officials said.

  • Matthew Gauck, 22, died May 23 near Milepost 162 in Virginia, when his motorcycle crashed while “traveling at a high rate of speed,” park officials said.

The parkway is a scenic two-lane blacktop that runs 469 miles through the mountains in Virginia and North Carolina. The National Park Service reports 14 million people visited the parkway last year.

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