Montour Township motorcycle crash leaves one dead

MONTOUR TOWNSHIP, COLUMBIA COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — Authorities say one person is dead after a motorcycle crash in Montour Township.

At 1:56 p.m. on Tuesday, the Montour Township Police Department say they were called to State Route 11 for a reported crash between a motorcycle and a car.

Police explained in a release 52-year-old Franklin Persing from Berwick was driving his motorcycle southbound on Montour Boulevard, or State Route 11, with his wife, 36-year-old Ruth Persing, as a passenger and used their turn signal to pull into Vreeland’s Harley Davidson’s.

Authorities say they were struck from behind by a car and both Franklin and Ruth were thrown from the motorcycle into the parking lot.

The car’s driver told police their phone rang and was lying in the passenger seat.

After they looked over, picked up, and answered the phone, the driver looked up and realized he was only feet away from the motorcyclist and was unable to avoid hitting them, later sustaining damage, according to police.

The car driver suffered minor injuries from the airbag deployment and was treated on scene.

Franklin was taken to GMC Danville with serious injuries while Ruth was pronounced dead on the scene.

Police say the investigation into the crash is ongoing at this time.

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