Cyclist hit by vehicle near Dunn

tool name

tool name

Family of bike rider hit by car sought

State troopers are looking for relatives of a young man who was hit Saturday night while riding a bicycle near Dunn.

The rider had no identification, the state Highway Patrol said.

The rider's condition was not released.

Motorcycle wreck claims man's life

A 34-year-old man was killed late Tuesday afternoon after he lost control of his motorcycle and slammed into a driveway culvert near Fuquay-Varina, according to the state Highway Patrol.

Robert Lee Cope of 2101 Colorwood Court in Fuquay-Varina was traveling the posted speed limit at the time of the crash, but state troopers had not determined whether alcohol played a role in the crash, a Highway Patrol spokesman said Wednesday.

The single-vehicle wreck occurred just before 5 p.m. about three miles north of Fuquay-Varina, the patrol reported.

Former Morrisville chief killed in wreck

Former Morrisville Police Chief Robert Whitesell Jr. died Saturday after his motorcycle crashed on N.C. 87 in Alamance County.

Whitesell, 55, of Apex was riding his 2009 Harley Davidson when it ran off the side of N.C. 87 near the Chatham County line just after 5:40 p.m., according to the state Highway Patrol. He over-corrected and veered across the road into the oncoming lane, according to patrol records. Whitesell then lost control, was thrown off the bike and hit a concrete mailbox post.

There were no other vehicles involved, and he did not have a passenger, according to a preliminary accident report. He was wearing a helmet.

Teen dies in motorcycle wreck

An 18-year-old was killed in a wreck Saturday afternoon after driving his stepfather's motorcycle without a proper license, state troopers said.

Tyler Dean Smith of Princeton died when he hit a minivan head-on at Rains Mill Road near Old Cornwallis Road. No one in the minivan was injured.

Smith took the motorcycle out for a spin after getting into an argument with a friend, according to Highway Patrol Trooper D.T. Sharte.

Former police chief of Morrisville dies in crash

A former Morrisville police chief was killed when the motorcycle he was riding crashed late Saturday afternoon in southern Alamance County.

Robert Whitesell Jr., 55, of Apex died after his 2009 Harley-Davidson ran off the side of N.C. 87 near the Chatham County line just after 5:40 p.m. He overcorrected and veered across the road into the oncoming lane, according to state Highway Patrol records. Whitesell then lost control, was thrown off the bike and hit a concrete mailbox post.

There were no other vehicles involved, and Whitesell did not have a passenger, according to a preliminary accident report. He was wearing a helmet.