Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
A Texas motorcyclist died on Highway 209 south of Tucumcari after his vehicle apparently was thrown out of control by a gust of wind, then crashed.
Dead was Michael Jay Hair, 63, of Post, Texas, who was driving a 2019 Harley-Davidson motorcycle north on the highway.
According to a news release Wednesday from New Mexico State Police, the accident occurred about 12:30 p.m. Oct. 9 around milepost 80 of Highway 209.
“A gust of wind is believed to have caused the motorcycle to leave the roadway. The motorcycle crashed in the dirt shoulder and Hair was ejected,” public information officer Ray Wilson stated in the release. “He sustained fatal injuries in the crash and was pronounced deceased on the scene by the Office of the Medical Investigator.”
According to data from Tucumcari Municipal Airport, wind gusts from the west of more than 30 mph were recorded about that time.
Hair was not wearing a helmet at the time of the crash, which is being investigated by state police.