Man dies in motorcycle crash
Apr. 11—ASHTABULA TOWNSHIP — The Ohio State Highway Patrol responded to a crash in the closed section of Route 531 on Tuesday night, and found 82-year-old Walter Barnes dead, said OHP Trooper Jose Molina on Wednesday.
Molina said OHP received the call at about 6:24 p.m. on Tuesday, about a motorcycle driver unconscious on the road. He said the crash happened approximately .3 miles west of mile marker 14 on Route 531, which is adjacent to the North Kingsville/Ashtabula Township line.
"It was on State Route 531, east of LaBounty [Road], where the road closure is," he said. "It happened inside the construction zone."
Barnes' motorcycle was traveling eastbound at an unknown speed when he hit a rock pile, Molina said.
"The motorcycle when airborne and the rider was ejected," he said. A bystander located Barnes about the same time OHP was dispatched to the scene, he said.
EMS pronounced him dead on the scene, Molina said. OHP left the scene at around 8:20 p.m., he said.
"Toxicology reports do not show anything in his system," Molina said.
