Another ‘Dragon’ death : N.C. woman killed when motorcycle slides off road
By J.J. Kindred | (jj.kindred@thedailytimes.com)
A North Carolina woman was killed in a motorcycle accident Monday afternoon on “The Dragon.”
It was the fourth fatality of the year on the curvy mountain stretch of U.S. Highway 129.
Judy Hatley Harris, 62, of Wilmington, was riding a 1996 Yamaha southbound behind her husband’s motorcycle.
Harris cut into a wide curve on Mile Marker 4, and her motorcycle dropped off the right hand side of the road and could not recover, according Tennessee Highway Patrol Trooper Cory Russell, who investigated.
The motorcycle laid down and struck a stump, causing Harris to go about 75 feet down an embankment, Russell said.
Harris was wearing a helmet, according to the report. Harris’s husband was not involved in the crash and was not injured. No other vehicles were involved.
Rural/Metro and Blount County Sheriff’s Office deputies, as well as the Blount County Rescue Squad, were also on the scene.
Other fatalities on ‘The Dragon’ this year:
• Sept. 28: Sean R. McMillin, 24, of Cherry Point, N.C., was killed in a motorcycle wreck near Mile Marker 7. He was a lance corporal in the U.S. Marine Corps, stationed in North Carolina.
• June 15: Harley Hogue, 53, of Naples, Fla., was killed near Mile Marker 8 after losing control of his motorcycle while negotiating a sharp right-hand curve.
• June 6: John W. Henson, of Carencro, La., was killed when he tried to negotiate a sharp right-hand curve while riding his 2006 Honda motorcycle near Mile Marker 4 and the vehicle crossed into the southbound lane and left the road.
