Dublin resident Richard L. Wehling, 77, died Wednesday in a motorcycle crash at the intersection of Route 736 and Taylor Road. Reports indicate a semi-truck pulling farm equipment caught utility lines that became downed in the roadway. Wehling allegedly failed to see the downed lines and struck them, causing his motorcycle to overturn. (Photos submitted)
A Dublin man died yesterday in a fatal motorcycle crash in Darby Township.
The Union County Sheriff’s Office received a report of a possible injury crash at the intersection of Route 736 and Taylor Road at 2:49 p.m. Wednesday.
According to a release from the Sheriff’s Office, deputies and units from the Ohio State Highway Patrol and the Pleasant Valley Fire District responded to the scene.
There, they found a 2013 Harley Davidson motorcycle leaning on its side and a 2001 Kenworth semi-truck towing a farm implement near the intersection.
The driver of the Harley Davidson, Richard L. Wehling, 77, of Dublin was pronounced deceased at the scene by the Union County Coroner’s Office.
A preliminary investigation by the Sheriff’s Office revealed the Kenworth semi-truck was driving northbound on Route 736, pulling a farm implement.
The implement reportedly became entangled in overhead utility lines near the intersection of Taylor Road and pulled the lines into the roadway.
Vehicle traffic began to back up due to the downed utility lines.
At the time, Wehling was traveling northbound on Route 736, passed several stopped vehicles and attempted to turn west onto Taylor Road.
The Sheriff’s Office indicated that Wehling “failed to see a low hanging utility line and struck the utility line, causing the motorcycle to overturn.”
Alcohol is not suspected to be a factor in the crash.
The Sheriff’s Office was assisted at the scene by the Ohio Department of Transportation, the Ohio State Highway Patrol, the State Patrol Commercial Enforcement Unit, the Pleasant Valley Fire District, Frontier Communications and the Union County Coroner’s Office.
The crash is currently under investigation by the Sheriff’s Office. The deceased was transported to Montgomery County Morgue, where an autopsy will be performed.