A Findlay man was killed Sunday afternoon when a car struck the back of his motorcycle as he waited at an intersection in Biglick Township, the Hancock County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release issued Sunday night.
Deputies were called at 4:35 p.m. on October 25 to a report of an injury crash on State Route 568 at State Route 330. A preliminary investigation found that Shawn Rutherford, 44, of Findlay, was riding a 2004 Harley-Davidson motorcycle east on State Route 568 and had stopped for traffic at the intersection, according to the sheriff’s office.
A 2000 Mercury Grand Marquis driven by Mick Green, 37, of Findlay, was also traveling eastbound and struck the rear of the motorcycle, the sheriff’s office said. Rutherford was pronounced dead at the scene.
Green and his two passengers — a 36-year-old Findlay man and a 37-year-old Carey woman — were not injured, according to the release. Hanco EMS, the Vanlue Volunteer Fire Department and Dick’s Towing assisted deputies at the scene.
The intersection sits in rural Biglick Township east of Findlay, where State Route 568 carries local and farm traffic across the eastern side of Hancock County. Sunday’s crash came on a clear, dry fall afternoon that had drawn motorcyclists across northwest Ohio out for late-October riding.
The crash remains under investigation by the sheriff’s office. The release did not say whether any charges or citations are expected, and Sgt. Shane Heckman is the sheriff’s office contact for the case.
Rear-end collisions are among the most dangerous crash types for motorcyclists, who have no protective structure around them when traffic ahead slows or stops. Safety officials in Ohio routinely urge drivers to leave extra following distance in the fall, when low afternoon sun, farm equipment moving between fields and leaf-covered pavement can all shorten reaction times on two-lane state routes like State Route 568.
Investigators in fatal Hancock County crashes typically reconstruct the scene, examine both vehicles and review witness accounts before the sheriff’s office and the county prosecutor decide whether any citation or charge follows. That process can take days or weeks, and the office said Sunday night’s release was a preliminary account of what deputies found.
NewsForce247 will update this story if the sheriff’s office releases additional findings from the investigation.