CLEVELAND — A motorcycle rider was found dead at the scene of a crash on Third Creek Church Road about 6 this morning.
North Carolina State Highway Patrol trooper C.T. Walker said the motorcyclist was traveling north on Third Creek Church Road when he ran off the left side of the road, struck a ditch and was ejected.
The driver has been identified as 39-year-old Dennis Wayne Elmore of Statesville.
The crash was reported just after 6 a.m.
No other vehicles were involved in the crash, Walker said. Elmore was the only passenger.
“It appears speed was a factor by the evidence at the scene,” Walker said.
The crash happened in the 4300 block of Third Creek Church Road near old U.S. 70.
Elmore was an employee at the Freightliner plant on Statesville Boulevard in Cleveland.
Walker said it appeared Elmore was traveling home from work.
The crash is the third motorcycle fatality in Rowan County in the last four days. A fourth person died Saturday on Bringle Ferry Road in Davidson County.