Anne Arundel County Police Investigating Fatal Motorcycle Crash Overnight
HARMANS, MD. (WJZ) — Police are investigating a motorcycle crash in Anne Arundel County that left one man dead overnight Thursday.
Officers on patrol at around 12:31 a.m. found an unattended motorcycle on its side on Telegraph Road at the Route 100 west exit ramp in Harmans, Maryland.
They searched the area and found a man in the grassy area adjacent to the ramp. He was pronounced dead at the scene by fire department personnel and taken to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore for an autopsy.
Police said a 2000 Yamaha Roadstar motorcycle was leaving the Route 100 westbound onto Telegraph Road when it failed to make a left-handed curve on the ramp.
The motorcycle then left the road striking a road sign and ejecting the man, identified as 36-year-old Paul Thomas Chapman, Jr., of Odenton. The motorcycle then continued through the grassy area and stopped on the side of the road.
Police believe the primary cause of the crash is excessive speed, and alcohol use is also a contributing factor- though toxicology results are pending.
The Traffic Safety Section is handling the crash investigation.