A motorcycle accident in southwest Iowa’s Page County has claimed the life of a Villisca man. According to the Iowa State Patrol, 20-year-old Matthew Jeffrey Samo was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash at 12:05 AM Thursday near Shenandoah.
Officials say he was not wearing a helmet. According to authorities, Samo was traveling northeast on Highway 48, when his 1990 Honda CBR 1000 motorcycle left the highway, entered a ditch, traveled up the embankment and crossed Avenue "A." In the process, Samo was ejected from the cycle.
His body struck a railroad crossing signpost and continued through a ditch before hitting the tracks and coming to rest. The rider-less cycle, meanwhile, continued down a ditch and across a set of railroad tracks before finally coming to rest on its side. The Patrol says weather and poor traction may have played a role in the crash.
The area was experiencing rain, and officials say the cycle’s rear tire was bald. Samo was a 2007 graduate of Lenox High School.