POLK COUNTY, Fla. — A man died early Thursday morning after crashing his motorcycle in Lakeland, according to officials.
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) responded to a motorcycle crash on Rockridge Road in north Lakeland, west of the intersection with U.S. Hwy 98, on Thursday.
Authorities received the call regarding the crash around 7:00 a.m. from someone who passed by and spotted the motorcycle and a man on the ground.
PSCO said the girlfriend told authorities the motorcyclist, Ronel Edward Kirkland II of Lakeland, that he had left her home around 1:00 a.m. on his 2002 black and red Kawasaki motorcycle to get a tool, and she never heard from him after that.
Authorities said Kirkland failed to negotiate the left curve, and the bike went off the north shoulder of the roadway.
The bike traveled across a small ditch, at which time Kirkland was ejected, striking a hog wire fence. It appeared his head hit the fence post, and he was not wearing a helmet, PSCO said.
