UMATILLA, Florida— A motorcyclist was killed Sunday afternoon after he attempted to pass a pickup truck in a no-passing zone as the truck was making a left turn, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
A 51-year-old Enterprise man was riding a 2019 Ducati Panigale motorcycle southbound on County Road 44A approaching Bill Collins Road in unincorporated Umatilla when he attempted to pass a 2006 Chevrolet Silverado towing a boat just after 1:30 p.m., FHP Lt. Tara Crescenzi said in an email.
As the 19-year-old Umatilla man driving the Silverado made a left turn onto Bill Collins Road, the motorcycle struck the left rear of the truck, Crescenzi said.
A witness to the crash, who wished to remain anonymous, told Inside Lake the motorcyclist was with a group of bikers when the crash happened.
“It was a group of eight to 10 sport bikes going 70 to 100 (miles per hour) and passing on the double line going south. The (teen) driving the pickup was making a left turn onto Bill Collins and the group of bikes was also going south and passing illegally at excessive speed – one of them, likely the first bike, ran into the side of the pickup catapulting the rider to his death,” the witness told Inside Lake. “The back wheel was off the bike and the bike was still running after the wreck.”
One of the bikers in the group was very aggressive toward a second witness and the driver of the truck, according to the witness who spoke to Inside Lake. The witness got in between that biker and the teen and told the teen to get back in the truck. The teen was not injured and remained on scene.
The motorcyclist, who was wearing a helmet, was transported to AdventHealth Waterman in Tavares where he was pronounced deceased, Crescenzi said. His next of kin has been notified.
The crash remains under investigation.
