Wisconsin woman dies in motorcycle crash

Friday, March 25, 2005 | 9:47 a.m.

A Wisconsin woman on her way to visit Death Valley with her husband died Thursday morning after she lost control of the motorcycle she was driving, Nevada Highway Patrol troopers said.

It was the first of two fatal crashes in two days on State Route 160. Another person died about 4 this morning in a single-vehicle rollover just past the Nye County line, Trooper Angie Chavera, an NHP spokeswoman, said. Few other details about what happened or who was involved were available this morning, as investigators were still on the scene, she said.

Troopers say the woman, whose name was not released, was riding a rented Harley-Davidson motorcycle with her husband about 9:30 a.m. Thursday when she tried to follow her husband around a slower-moving tractor-trailer on Route 160 near the Mountain Springs pass.

The motorcycle rider's husband safely passed the truck but his wife lost control and hit the back of the trailer, Chavera said. She died at the scene. It was the second motorcycle fatality on Southern Nevada highways this year, she said.

Investigators Thursday afternoon were looking into what caused the crash, but said the couple, in their late 40s, was wearing helmets and did not appear to be exceeding the posted 55 mph speed limit. Both the woman and her husband had the proper motorcycle drivers' licenses, she said.

"It was really just an unfortunate event," Chavera said, adding that the woman may have become distracted. "... Motorcycles are delicate instruments and you have to give them your full attention."

The woman's husband later told troopers they were visiting Las Vegas with family and were expected to travel to Death Valley to see the wildflowers, Chavera said.

The driver of the tractor-trailer was not cited in the crash, Chavera said.