A Windham man was killed Sunday when his speeding motorcycle went off Route 27 in New Sharon and ended up in a field, according to state police.
It was one of four motorcycle fatalities in the state this weekend, and makes a total of 17 for the year, the highest in at least the past six years, according to state Department of Safety spokesman Steve McCausland.
The body of Jonathan Billings, 24, was found 15 hours after police ended a chase with him in Farmington, according to a news release from McCausland.
Billings died when he hit a fence post, according to the release, which said he was not wearing a helmet.
Farmington police had attempted to stop the motorcycle along Route 27, but it sped off at more than 100 mph at about 1 a.m. Because of the dangerous speed, police lost track of the bike immediately and did not chase it.
State Trooper Jed Malcore was on Philbrick Street when he saw the motorcycle, a 2007 Harley Davidson XL1200, speed by.
Malcore said a landowner along Route 27 found the motorcycle in his field and Billings’ body nearby around 6 p.m. Sunday less than a mile from the Farmington/New Sharon town line, according to the release.
It was the sixth highway death in Maine since Friday night. Four of the fatal crashes involved motorcycles, McCausland said.
Four of the fatalities were also on Sunday. In addition to Billings’ death, a woman died in Durham when her motorcycle crashed along Route 125, a Fort Kent man died when his motorcycle collided with another one along Route 161 in Fort Kent and a woman was killed in a car collision with a tractor-trailer on Route 117 in Buckfield.
On Saturday, a one-car crash in Southwest Harbor on Route 102 killed a woman.
On Friday night, a man was killed when his motorcycle struck a deer in Enfield. That crash was on Hammet Road about 9:30 p.m.
McCausland said that July and August are traditionally the deadliest months on Maine roads because they are the most heavily traveled months. He said speed and alcohol are “also huge factors” in road deaths.
He said Monday afternoon that blood alcohol tests are done on drivers in all crashes, but the results will not be available from any of the recent crashes for a couple of weeks.
According to the Bureau of Highway Safety, there were six motorcycle accidents between January and August last year, eight in 2013, 12 in 2012, seven in 2011 and 11 in 2010.
Doug Harlow — 612-2367
Twitter: @Doug_Harlow
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