Motorcyclist riding with group on Interstate 95 dies after losing control, NC cops say

A motorcycle rider grabbed a water bottle before he lost control and died in a North Carolina crash, news outlets reported.

The man was riding with a group on Interstate 95 when officials reportedly said he reached for the bottle and took a sip. He then swerved and ran into a guardrail on Saturday, Aug. 6, according to WNCN and WRAL.

The motorcyclist died at the scene of the single-vehicle crash. State troopers identified him as 49-year-old Kenneth Ray Todd of Hallsboro, a community in Columbus County roughly 120 miles south of Raleigh.

N.C. State Highway Patrol reported the crash at about 3 p.m. around mile marker 66. The area lies near Fayetteville in Cumberland County.

State troopers said Todd was riding his bike south when he “lost control, struck the concrete barrier on the left shoulder, crossed the centerline and was ejected off the motorcycle.” He was thrown about 50 feet from the crash site, according to a report shared with McClatchy News.

Other motorcyclists riding with Todd in a construction zone witnessed their friend’s fatal crash, WNCN reported.

The incident shut down part of I-95, which later reopened to traffic, according to the N.C. Department of Transportation and ABC11, The News & Observer’s media partner.

N.C. State Highway Patrol didn’t immediately share additional details with McClatchy News on Aug. 8.

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