Bel Air man dies in Fallston motorcycle crash

A 24-year-old Bel Air man was pronounced dead at the Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore after he crashed his motorcycle into a dump truck Wednesday morning, the county sheriff's office said.

Harford County sheriff's deputies responded to Route 147 (Harford Road) near Reckord Road at approximately 10:51 a.m. after a motorcycle collided with a Harford County Highways dump truck, according to a news release from the sheriff's office.

The motorcyclist was headed south on Harford Road and was traveling at a "high rate of speed" and crossed double yellow lines on the two-lane road, according to the release, which cited witness reports.

The dump truck was on Reckord Road crossing Harford Road when the motorcycle ran into it, hitting the driver's side rear side of the truck, according to the news release.

The motorcycle driver, Samuel Agostini of Bel Air, was flown by Maryland State Police Medevac to shock trauma with serious injuries. The 56-year-old dump truck driver was not injured, according to the sheriff's office.

A third vehicle was involved in the accident, but the occupants were not injured, according to Monica Worrell, spokesperson for the sheriff's office. The motorcycle came to rest under the front of the third vehicle's bumper, she added.

The driver was pronounced dead at the hospital shortly after noon, according to a later update from the sheriff's office.

Agostini, who was wearing a helmet, did not have a motorcycle license, Worrell said.

According to electronic court records, Agostini charged in April with driving a motorcycle without a license, and was found guilty on June 7, when he was granted probation before judgment, a finding of guilt that can later be expunged.

Worrell also said drugs and alcohol do not appear to be factors in the crash, which police said was caused by excessive speed.

Harford County government spokesman Bob Thomas said the truck driver, who was the only occupant of the county vehicle, will be interviewed administratively, "as is done any time one of our vehicles is involved in an accident." Thomas said personnel from the county's risk management agency went to the scene of the accident.

Harford Road, from the Baltimore County line to just south of Route 152 (Mountain Road), and portions of Reckord Road were closed for more than an hour, as deputies continued to investigate the accident. All roads were reopened as of 2 p.m.

Wednesday's death is the first fatality on Harford roads this month, but the 16th this year.