LAKELAND, Fla. – A 33-year-old Lake Wales man riding a motorcycle through Lakeland was killed Saturday when he was struck head-on by a pickup truck that had pulled into his lane, according to police.
The crash occurred around 6:30 a.m. in the 3900 block of New Tampa Highway, police said in a statement.
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According to a news release, the motorcyclist — identified by police as Max Beagan — was traveling eastbound as the pickup truck traveled west. When the 41-year-old Lakeland man driving the pickup truck attempted to pass a cement mixer ahead of him by entering the eastbound lane, the front of the vehicle collided with the motorcycle, separating Beagan from the bike as the truck went on to roll over in the grassy area on the south side of the road, police said.
Beagan was pronounced dead at the scene and the Lakeland man was taken to a hospital for treatment of minor injuries, the release states.
New Tampa Highway was closed for around four hours as the scene was processed. Investigators have so far determined that limited visibility due to fog appeared to be a factor in the crash.
Lakeland police said that Polk County Fire Rescue and the Lakeland Fire Department also responded to the crash.
Anyone with more information about the crash was asked to contact Lakeland traffic crash investigators at travis.payne@lakelandgov.net.
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