Police report that a Southbury man was killed about 3 pm on Thursday, January 19, when riding a motorcycle on Mt Pleasant Road; the vehicle traveled off the roadway and struck some flex-beam metallic guardrailing, resulting in fatal injuries.This story has been updated to more accurately describe the accident location.

Dead is Michael Defusco, age 42, police said. A spokeswoman for the chief state medical examiner's office said on the morning of January 20, that autopsy results on Mr Defusco would be disclosed later that day.

Police said that Mr Defusco was riding a 2011 Harley-Davidson Street Glide motorcycle on Mt Pleasant Road, in the area between its intersections with Mt Pleasant Terrace and Reservoir Road, when, for some reason, the motorcycle struck the guardrailing.

Mr Defusco was the only person riding the Street Glide, which is a large vehicle, police said.

Newtown Hook & Ladder volunteer firefighters, and the Newtown Volunteer Ambulance Corps responded to the accident scene. Police found a heavily damaged motorcycle lying on southbound Mt Pleasant Road. Mr Defusco was found down an embankment alongside the road, police said.

Paramedics determined that the motorcyclist died due to the extent of injuries received in the impact, police said.

A lengthy section of Mt Pleasant Road was closed to through-traffic as the evening rush period started, and as police began their detailed investigation into the crash. During that period, the affected roadway section was closed to through-traffic.

Such on-scene fatal accident investigations by the police department's accident reconstruction team typically last six to eight hours. Detours were set up in the area to divert traffic away from the accident scene. Northbound traffic on Main Street was detoured onto Currituck Road as an alternate route.

On January 20, police asked anyone who witnessed the accident to contact them at 203-426-5841.