Three area motorcycle deaths reported this week

Three different counties in the area have reported motorcycle riders being killed in crashes just this week. 

One cycle rider died after striking a Hyundai on an Onalaska street on Memorial Day. 

That same day in Vernon County, 40-year-old Nicholas Miller of Viroqua was killed after running into a utility pole in the Genoa area. 

On Tuesday, 74-year-old Gary Heath died when his motorcycle hit a deer, and he was thrown off.  That crash occurred near Whitehall. 

The Wisconsin DOT reported that 21 motorcycle drivers or riders had been killed in accidents this year, through May 30th.  

Vernon and La Crosse Counties have now reported four traffic deaths each this year, and Trempealeau County has had two highway deaths.     

Traffic deaths in Wisconsin for the first five months of the year were at their lowest level in five years, as of last Sunday. 

The DOT said 166 people had died in highway accidents in 2021, through May 30th.  That’s down 4 from the same period a year ago, and almost 50 lower than in 2016. 

However, May was the deadliest month on Wisconsin roads since last October, with at least 45 deaths in crashes.