OXFORD, Maine — A Harrison man died Saturday afternoon after his motorcycle went off the road and slammed into a tree, according to police.
James Storey, 39, was dead at the scene of the crash, which was reported to the Oxford County Sheriff’s Office at 2:45 p.m. Saturday, according to Officer Dan Hastings.
Witnesses reported Storey was traveling at a high rate of speed on the Robinson Hill Road and went off the road near the Jam Hill Road intersection, Hastings said. The motorcycle struck several items before slamming into a tree.
The motorcycle, an older Yamaha, was not registered nor insured, the officer said.
The Maine Department of Public Safety reported Aug. 3 that 17 people had died in motorcycle crashes in Maine since the start of the year. That’s nearly three times the six motorcycle fatalities during the same period last year.
Eight people died in motorcycle crashes in 2013, 12 in 2012, seven in 2011 and 11 in 2010, according to the Maine Bureau of Highway Safety.
Sgt. Alan Coffin of the Oxford Police Department is investigating the crash.