State Police believe the motorcycle crashed into the side of a pickup truck while trying to turn north on 503
BATTLE GROUND — Two people were killed Sunday afternoon in a crash on SR-503 north of Battle Ground. According to a memo from Washington State Patrol, a motorcycle operated by 71-year old Michael Rowe of Vancouver was attempting to turn left from 269th Street onto northbound SR-503 when a GMC pick-up towing a trailer came over the hill headed southbound.
The driver of the truck tried to avoid the motorcycle by going into the northbound lanes of the highway, but troopers on the scene said they believe the motorcycle struck the side of the trailer.
Rowe and his passenger, 68-year old Susan Smith, were thrown from the motorcycle. Both were wearing helmets but were declared dead at the scene. Witnesses said first responders performed CPR on Rowe for some time, but he could not be revived. According to witnesses, it appeared Smith died on impact.
Jason Tevlin and Shary Carter were paying their respects at Lewisville Cemetery when they heard the crash.
“We were just here putting some flowers on some graves and then all of a sudden we heard a big old pop,” Tevlin told KOIN 6 News. “It just hit so hard, it was like almost a gunshot.”
No one in the pickup was injured. SR-503 was closed in the area for several hours during the investigation. Witnesses on social media said it was a horrific scene. The driver of the pickup truck was described as “distraught” after the accident.
Other neighbors told KOIN the area is a bad spot for accidents, due to the hill just before 269th. They said the county needs to consider putting a stop light in there to prevent accidents in the future.
