Monroe Man Dies In Nighttime Motorcycle Crash

By Andrew Gorosko

A Monroe man died late on the night of August 21 of heart failure, just before a motorcycle he was driving on Pine Tree Hill Road went off the street and struck a utility pole, near the Monroe town line.

Motorcyclist John Wilcox, 41, of 273 Guinea Road, Monroe, was driving a Kawasaki KLR-650 motorcycle southward on Pine Tree Hill Road at about 10 pm, when he lost control of the motorcycle, failed to negotiate a downward curve to the left and then collided with a mailbox and a utility pole on the right side of the road, police said. The pole is located near the driveway entrance to 60 Pine Tree Hill Road.

Following an August 23 autopsy, a spokeswoman for the chief state medical examiner said that Mr Wilcox suffered a sudden death due to coronary atherosclerosis, or a natural death due to heart disease.

Police said August 24 that Mr Wilcox died as a result of a pre-existing medical condition and not the various injuries he received in the motorcycle accident.

The accident occurred on the section of Pine Tree Hill Road south of its intersection with Jacobs Lane and north of its intersection with Winton Farm Road. The area does not have streetlighting.

Pine Tree Hill Road in that area is a relatively narrow street with many tight curves and steep slopes. Pine Tree Hill Road links Meadow Brook Road in Newtown to Guinea Road in Monroe.

Police received a call at 9:58 pm alerting them that the accident had occurred. The Newtown Volunteer Ambulance Corps and Botsford firefighters were called to the scene at 10:09 pm. After attempting to revive him, ambulance volunteers transported Mr Wilcox to Danbury Hospital. He was later pronounced dead.

Police remained at the accident scene investigating the crash until 12:42 am on August 22. Botsford firefighters provided lighting equipment to illuminate the accident scene, which was closed to traffic while the investigation was underway.

A line of motorcycle skidmarks on Pine Tree Hill Road indicates that Mr Wilcox had attempted to stop the motorcycle before he collided with the utility pole.

Mr Wilcox was not wearing a protective helmet when the accident occurred, said police Lieutenant James Mooney.

“There is physical evidence, including skid marks at the scene, that is under investigation,” Lt Mooney said. A full investigation will be conducted, including a toxicology analysis of Mr Wilcox’s bodily fluids.

Patrol officers David Kullgren and William Hull are investigating the accident with Detective Robert Koetsch. The investigation is expected to take several weeks to complete.