Motorcyclist crashes into water, dies
<p>Flathead County Sheriff's deputies and troopers from the Montana Highway Patrol investigate the scene of a fatal motorcycle accident on Monday afternoon on Rhodes Draw in West Valley. West Flathead EMS and West Valley Fire and EMS also responded to the scene. (Brenda Ahearn/Daily Inter Lake)</p>
A man died on Monday after his motorcycle crashed on Rhodes Draw west of Kalispell.
His motorcycle left the roadway around noon and landed in a roadside ditch containing a small amount of water.
Trooper Pat Herman of the Montana Highway Patrol said that a witness saw the driver start to lose control before going into the ditch one mile west of Farm to Market Road.
The man was unresponsive by the time emergency responders arrived.
Herman said that the primary injury was head trauma, though it’s possible the man was knocked unconscious and drowned. Both the rider and the motorcycle were found in the water next to the road.
The cause of death is still under investigation. The man’s identity has not been released, but Herman said he was in his 40s or 50s.
West Valley EMS, West Valley Fire Department, the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office and the Montana Highway Patrol responded to the crash scene.