YANKEE SPRINGS TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) — John Leslie was in his home Sunday night when he suddenly heard two loud cracks outside.
When he looked out of his front window, he saw a motorcycle had crashed into his fence and was still running. That was when he ran outside and tried to help.
“We ran to see if there was a body or anything there, if there was somebody hurt and there was nobody around,” Leslie said.
He followed the tracks and discovered a horrific crash scene a short distance away.
That was where he saw a large tree branch had fallen on top of a motorcyclist. A second motorcyclist had also hit the fallen branch and was thrown off his bike, but he was conscious and talking.
It happened around 8 p.m. Sunday at the intersection of Yankee Springs Road and White Pine Drive in Yankee Springs Township, northeast of Gun Lake.
Tuesday, police identified the victims as 47-year-ld Christian Nederveld of Wyoming and 55-year-old Jeffrey Altena of Hudsonville.
When Leslie saw the first motorcyclist was unconscious, he rushed over to him and began performing CPR.
“Just trying to do anything can to help them, give them a fighting chance,” he said. “I knew as soon as I started pumping his chest that he was gone.”
Altena died at the scene, and Nederveld was taken to an area hospital where he died from his injuries. Both were wearing helmets at the time of the crash.
The Barry County Road Commission said it hasn’t been called to the area recently for concerns over the trees, and the tree involved was still alive somewhat healthy.