A 22-year-old man is dead after the dirt bike he was riding collided with a logging truck in what RCMP are calling a “freak accident.”
The local man was dirt biking on Lodgepole Forest Service Road east of Elko on Sunday at around 4 p.m. with a friend when they encountered the Canfor truck coming the opposite direction.
The truck swerved to the right to try to avoid the man, but while the one dirt bike swerved right and avoided the truck, the victim went left, straight towards the truck. The truck driver tried to avoid the bike, ending up in the ditch, but the bike collided with the truck.
The man was pronounced dead at the scene.
“At the moment it just looks like a freak and very tragic accident,” said Sgt. Will Thien from the Elk Valley RCMP.
“It happened very fast and there was no time for the truck driver to try to avoid hitting the bike.
“We are not suspecting alcohol was involved.”
The investigation is ongoing. Sgt. Thien said the RCMP are unlikely to be releasing the man’s name.