By Vanesa Brashier, editor@bluebonnetnews.com
For the second time in just over a week, a local man has been killed in a motorcycle crash in Tarkington. Around 3 a.m. Wednesday, April 24, the body of 44-year-old Norbert Lewis Cogan of Hull was found lying in a roadside ditch along SH 105 at CR 2242 in front of Alldredge Veterinary Hospital.
Cogan and the motorcycle he was riding veered off of SH 105 at the curve in front of of the vet clinic. Cogan, who was not wearing a helmet, was ejected from the bike. Both rolled a number of times before coming to rest in the ditch, according to Trooper Cody Buntion with the Texas Department of Public Safety.
The crash is believed to have occurred around 2 a.m. but Cogan’s body was not found until 3 a.m. when a passerby noticed the wreckage in the ditch and stopped to help.
Speed is believed to be a factor in the crash and the lack of a helmet may have contributed to his death, Buntion said.
Pct. 5 Justice of the Peace Wade Brown was called to the scene to make the pronouncement of death.
Cogan’s death is the second motorcycle-related fatality in Tarkington in recent days. On April 16, 37-year-old Dustin Foster of Cleveland was killed when he crashed into the back of a Dodge Ram pickup on SH 105 just west of the FM 2518 intersection.
Speed and the lack of a helmet were contributing factors in Foster’s death, authorities said at the time.
Tarkington Volunteer Fire Department, Liberty County EMS and the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office assisted DPS with the April 24 crash.