Motorcycle

The driver of a motorcycle that wrecked on Interstate 81 between the Salem Avenue and Maugansville Road exits was taken to Meritus Medical Center to be examined, according to Maryland State Police. The driver escaped serious injury in the crash, police said. The crash, which occurred at about 3:10 p.m., happened after a tractor-trailer made an unsafe lane change, a state police spokesman said Wednesday night. There was no contact between the tractor-trailer and the motorcycle, the spokesman said.

His motorcycle, his music and his friends occupied John Link's thoughts and days until mid-afternoon Wednesday when his young life ended in a motorcycle accident. Link, 20, of Shenandoah Junction, graduated from Jefferson High School in 2009. He had been working at the Sheetz south of Martinsburg for nearly a year, coworkers there said Thursday.  Link was southbound on Kearneysville Pike (W.Va. 480) around 2:45 p.m. when his motorcycle left the west side of the road went down a bank and into some trees, according to Sgt. V.C. Lupis of the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department.

Two people were taken to Meritus Medical Center after a three-vehicle accident Thursday morning on eastbound Interstate 70 at the exit for U.S. 40. A Ford Windstar minivan entered I-70 from the Dual Highway at Exit 32 and slowed as it entered the flow of traffic, according to Maryland State Trooper Ryan Shaffer.  It was  struck by a tractor-trailer, which then swerved into the left lane of traffic and struck a motorcycle, Shaffer said. The motorcycle was forced into the median, where it overturned, he said.

A 20-year-old Jefferson County man died Wednesday afternoon after crashing the motorcycle he was riding on Kearneysville Pike south of Shepherdstown, according to the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office. John Jacob Link of Shenandoah Junction, W.Va., was pronounced dead at the scene in the 1800 block of Kearneysville Pike (W.Va. 480), less than a half mile south of Persimmon Lane, shortly after emergency responders were dispatched about 2:45 p.m., investigating Sheriff's Deputy Sgt. V.C. Lupis said.

Twenty-eight motorcycles from the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia snaked down a winding, pastoral road Sunday afternoon to the newly dedicated Flight 93 National Memorial. It was the annual 242-mile round-trip pilgrimage for a group of bikers who say they want to pay their respects to the tragic flight's passengers and crew members. “I'd encourage everybody to come here at least once,” said Bobby Shirley, who helped lead the ride from Charles Town, W.Va. Debra Lohr of Inwood, W.Va., said she thinks about the final moments for those onboard the aircraft as it rapidly descended and crashed into a meadow.

A Smithsburg man was taken to Meritus Medical Center on Wednesday morning after his motorcycle collided with another vehicle near the AC&T gas station at 22507 Jefferson Boulevard, Maryland State Police and a Washington County Emergency Services dispatcher said. State police later identified the motorcyclist as Sean Ott, 27, of 22534 Jefferson Blvd. Ott was listed in good condition Thursday morning, a hospital spokeswoman said. Maryland State Police 1st Sgt. K.W. Lewis said Ott was heading westbound on Jefferson Boulevard when he attempted to turn into the AC&T gas station and struck on oncoming 1999 Infinity QX4. Ott was cited for failing to yield the right of way while making a left turn, Lewis said.

Throttles Bar and Grill, at 236 Cumberland St. in Clear Spring, will hold its fourth annual Michelle Younker Memorial Ride Saturday to benefit the Humane Society of Washington County. The motorcycle ride is being held by Wanda and Sam Mills of Throttles in honor of their friend Michelle Younker who died in August 2005. "Michelle never had kids. She had two or three Great Danes all the time and just loved her dogs," Sam Mills said. "We wanted to do something in her honor, and we think holding this ride to benefit the shelter is something she would have liked.

A woman was thrown from the motorcycle she was driving Sunday morning after it hit a guardrail on U.S. 40 northeast of Boonsboro, according to Washington County Emergency Services. The woman was alert with a leg injury, a 911 dispatcher said. She was taken to Meritus Medical Center. The accident at the intersection of Boonsboro Mountain Road was reported at 11:03 a.m. Sunday, the dispatcher said. - Julie E. Greene

The first year a motorcycle ride was held in honor of breast cancer patient Jen Kelly, she was able to participate. Although she was weak from her battle with the disease, she rode with motorcyclist Dave Carroll and wore a specially designed helmet that read “Hope, Faith, Strength.” Kelly died in 2008, but she is not forgotten. As part of a tradition, Carroll strapped Kelly's helmet to the front of his handlebars Sunday during the annual Jen Kelly Memorial Ride. “She rides with us every year,” said Carroll, of Greencastle, Pa. About 56 people participated in Sunday's ride, which went to Blondie's bar and restaurant in Rouzerville, Pa., and back to The Improved Order of Red Men Tribe 84 club on Lappans Road in Williamsport.

A father of four who died after his motorcycle collided with a pickup truck Monday morning on Md. 66 near Beaver Creek began riding the motorcycle to save on gas, his wife said Tuesday. Rodger D. "Dwayne" Singleton, 33, of Boonsboro, rode the motorcycle because it used less gas than his truck, Dawn Singleton said. The move was important for family finances, she said Tuesday afternoon. "We got four kids to feed," said Singleton, adding that her husband had been riding a motorcycle for about seven months.