A 36-year-old Caledonia motorcyclist died late Saturday when he accidentally rear-ended a pickup truck near Propst Park in Columbus.
Gregory Bradley, who was driving an eastbound black 750 Suzuki motorcycle down Highway 182, hit the rear right-hand corner of an eastbound Ford F-150 truck that had slowed to turn left into the park at about 10 p.m. Saturday.
His motorcycle also hit a nearby car, and his fellow cyclist — Ronald Rhodes, 39, of Kennedy, Ala. — ran over the wreckage, damaging his Harley-Davidson.
Bradley, whose helmet came off in the wreck, was pronounced dead of multiple blunt force trauma where he landed, about 25 feet from his motorcycle, said Lowndes County Coroner Greg Merchant.
Rhodes was arrested at the scene for drunken driving. Although he was initially thought to have run over Bradley, Merchant said that was very unlikely.
Following standard procedure, a toxicology test has been ordered for Bradley, although the results will not be in for a couple of weeks, Merchant said.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 37 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.