Motorcycle driver dies after crash with semi-trailer | News

OPELIKA, AL - An Auburn man driving a motorcycle was killed in a crash on Tuesday, August 28 in Opelika.

Opelika Police and Fire Departments were sent to the area of Pepperell Parkway near Gentry and Ware around 4:11 p.m. to a crash involving a motorcylce and an 18-wheeler.

Officers determined that the motorcylce was travelling westbound towards Auburn and collided with the semi-trailer as it was making a left turn to travel eastbound on Pepperell Parkway from Commerce Drive. 

The 20-year-old Martez Antavious Heard was driving the motorcycle and was taken to the East Alabama Medical center by ambulance. He was later taken to the University of Alabama Hospital in Birmingham where he was later pronounced dead. 

The driver of the 18-wheeler, 39-year-old Derrick Dion Whipple from College Park, GA, was not injured.

Heard was wearing a helmet and alcohol is not considered a factor in the crash.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation by the Opelika Police Department.