UPDATED: Bear-motorcycle crash leads to closure of US 51 South in Lincoln County | WSAU News/Talk 550 AM · 99.9 FM

MERRILL, WI (WSAU) — An overnight accident involving a motorcycle and a bear closed the southbound lanes of US 51 overnight and left a motorcyclist dead.

At around 11:45 p.m. on Friday, officers were called to the area near Couty Road K, where they found the 50-year-old man unconscious. The Lincoln County Coroner pronounced him dead at the scene.

Investigators say the unidentified man was traveling south when he struck the bear. No further information has been released, including whether alcohol or speed were factors.

It's the second fatal motorcycle crash in the last two days as the Northwoods prepares for this weekend's Tomahawk Fall Ride. Martin L. Hrpcha of Kankakee, Illinois, died Friday morning when he failed to negotiate a turn and his motorcycle rolled into a ditch on Spring Creek Drive. He, too, was pronounced dead at the scene.