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Great reason to wear a helmet!!!
Tree Falls On Road, Kills Motorcycle Passenger
POSTED: 12:38 am EDT June 14, 2006
UPDATED: 12:57 am EDT June 14, 2006
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WATERVILLE VALLEY, N.H. -- A motorcyclist visiting New Hampshire died in a freak accident on Tuesday when a tree collapsed into the roadway.
Police said Louise Croft, 43, of Geulph, Ontario, Canada, was a passenger on a motorcycle driving on Route 112 in Waterville Valley. That stretch of road is also known as the Kangamangus Highway.
Conway Deputy Fire Chief Keith Noble described what a witness saw. "All she said was the tree just fell from the sky and struck this individual in the head," Noble said.
Police said the birch tree was rotting and randomly fell into the road.
People nearby responded quickly, including Croft's husband, and began trying to treat her.
"They were actually on scene giving rescue breaths and CPR," Noble said.
Croft was transported to Memorial Hospital in North Conway where she was later pronounced dead.
The Kangamangus is one of the not-to-miss routes for riders during motorcycle week.
Emergency workers say getting into an accident on the stretch has added risks. The nearest emergency crews can be miles away.
"From our station house to the height of land which we cover, then it goes to Lincoln, is 21 and a half miles up," Noble said.
Police did not identify the driver of the motorcycle that Croft was riding on, but said the person was not injured.
Croft is the seventh motorcyclist to die in New Hampshire since Friday. Three people were killed in an accident with six motorcycles and an SUV on Friday in Stoddard. An accident in Thornton involving a car and two motorcycles on Sunday also killed three people.