EVERETT— A man died Sunday evening soon after he crashed his motorcycle into a minivan in south Everett.
The man, believed to be in his 30s, was trying to pass a 1999 Mercury Villager in a no-passing zone on Holly Drive, a two-lane street, Everett Police Sgt. Robert Goetz said.
As the driver of the van turned left onto Rosewood Avenue, the motorcycle, a Honda 700, tried to pass the van. The motorcyclist crashed into the driver’s side and was thrown into the front yard of a house at the corner of the intersection.
“We had reports he had passed several vehicles prior to the collision,” Goetz said. The street is marked as a no-passing zone with a speed limit of 30 mph.
Given the damage and where the motorcycle ended up, “it most likely was a higher speed accident,” Goetz said.
The driver died at the scene, Goetz said. The man’s helmet came off during the collision and it was unclear if it was strapped on, Goetz said.
The man’s identity and cause of death is expected to be determined by the Snohomish County medical examiner.
The motorcycle slid about 100 feet and apparently knocked out the support post of a home’s front porch. The force of the impact knocked loose a spare tire beneath the mini-van and spread glass through the intersection of Holly Drive and Rosewood Avenue.
The driver of the mini-van, a 37-year-old Everett man, was not injured and wasn’t suspected of drinking alcohol, Goetz said. Another man and a 3-year-old child also were in the van and were not injured, Goetz said.
Witnesses ran out from their homes about 6:20 p.m. when the crash happened.
“I heard him pass, and I heard the impact,” Debbie Esteb said. “I’m very sad that somebody lost their life.”
At 8:30 p.m., investigators finished sweeping glass from the street, hauled away the motorcycle and mini-van and re-opened Holly Drive to traffic.
Esteb watched in awe as the damaged van went by, windows shattered. She said traffic on the street can be dangerously fast.
Traffic crews have parked radar trailers to show drivers how fast they are driving, but it’s not enough, Esteb said. Neighbors have asked police to do more to monitor speeding on the street.
“They’ve got to do something,” Esteb said.
Reporter Jeff Switzer: 425-339-3452 or jswitzer@heraldnet.com.
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