A 67-year-old motorcyclist was flown to an area trauma center Saturday night after crashing into the back of a pickup truck on State Route 7 near Alder, according to the Washington State Patrol. The crash happened around 9:40 p.m. as both the motorcycle and the truck were traveling north on the two-lane highway roughly 12 miles south of Eatonville.
Troopers said the motorcyclist had been following the pickup too closely before slamming into it, according to the Washington State Patrol, as reported by the Tacoma News Tribune. The rider needed treatment for his injuries and was taken to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. He was wearing a helmet at the time of the crash, the outlet reported.
The truck’s driver, a 29-year-old Kentucky man, was not hurt, per WSP. The crash partially blocked the roadway, and the blockage lasted two hours and 50 minutes before the highway reopened.
A Corridor With a Troubled 2026
The stretch of SR 7 near Alder has already seen repeated severe and fatal motorcycle crashes this year. Two motorcyclists were killed at the same location near Pilgrim Road within a week of each other in April, as detailed by FOX 13 Seattle. One of those victims, a 19-year-old Joint Base Lewis-McChord resident, died on April 18 after failing to negotiate a curve near Pilgrim Road, prompting Pierce County Fire District 23 to warn drivers that the section features sharp curves, changing road conditions, and little margin for error, according to KING 5…