Motorcyclist Killed, Forced Off Road; Police Looking for Driver in Pickup, Trailer

Rhome Police are working to identify the driver of a pickup truck they say forced a motorcyclist off the road early Friday morning, killing him.

According to investigators, officers in Rhome were called to a crash along U.S. Highway 287 between Pioneer Parkway and Texas 114 at about 7:15 a.m. where a motorcycle rider was fatally injured after having been driven from the roadway.

Police said a witness who stopped to help the motorcycle rider was able to provide dispatchers with a description of the pickup involved in the crash. The caller described the pickup as dark or silver-colored and said it was pulling a white flatbed trailer with orange on the bottom. The caller added there was a water tank on the trailer covered by a black tarp. The witness said the pickup driver left the area after the crash.

The witness said the pickup truck was followed by a second pickup with a trailer that looked similar and that they may have been traveling together.

The motorcycle rider, identified as 55-year-old Jerry Wayne Newton, of Decatur, was taken to John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth where he died of his injuries.

Rhome Police are asking for the public’s help in locating the truck driver who witnessed the event as well as the pickup driver who left the scene. Anyone who was in the area who has information about the crash is asked to contact the Rhome Police Department at 817-636-2400 or the Wise County Sheriff’s Office at 940-627-5971.

The investigation is ongoing and is being conducted by Rhome Police with assistance from the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Texas Rangers.