A motorcyclist was riding on the Center Street Bridge toward downtown Salem Thursday evening when he lost control and collided with a concrete barrier, according to the Salem Police Department. The man died in the collision.
Police have identified the motorcyclist as Mark S. Sewell, 27, of Salem.
Sewell was traveling east over the bridge when he “negotiated the sweeping right curve” to the off-ramp, lost control and collided with the barrier, Salem police said in a statement. “The impact vaulted the rider across the barrier and approximately 30 feet down to the ground below the bridge.”
Police responded to the crash at 6:10 p.m. Thursday. Sewell was pronounced dead at the scene.
The collision investigation shut down the southbound off-ramp to Northeast Front Street for about two and a half hours.
Sewell was the ninth person killed in a collision this year in Salem, police said.
Contact reporter Ardeshir Tabrizian: [email protected] or 503-929-3053.
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Ardeshir Tabrizian has covered criminal justice and housing for Salem Reporter since September 2021. As an Oregon native, his award-winning watchdog journalism has traversed the state. He has done reporting for The Oregonian, Eugene Weekly and Malheur Enterprise.
