Motorcyclist Dead After Fiery Head-on Crash with Lumber Truck

The motorcyclist involved in Thursday afternoon’s fiery head-on crash on Route 1A in Wenham was killed, according to Wenham police.

The driver of a lumber delivery truck that collided with the motorcycle suffered minor injuries and was being treated at Beverly Hospital, Wenham police said in a press release issued on Thusday afternoon.

The crash happened at 2:10 p.m. in the northbound lane of Route 1A just north of the intersection of Great Pond Road, in the area where the road curves around Wenham Lake.

The motorcycle driver and the truck driver were the only people involved, according to Wenham Police Captain Jeff Tobey. The identity of the drivers were not released on Thursday evening.

The crash closed Route 1A between Great Pond Road and Cherry Street for about four hours and caused significant traffic backups in North Beverly and Wenham until about 6 p.m.

Both vehicles came to rest on the shoulder of the northbound lane of Route 1A, with the delivery truck facing north and the motorcycle down on its side, pushed up against the front of the truck. The cab of the truck, owned by Timberline Enterprises of Beverly, was badly damaged by a fire that broke out after the crash. Wenham firefighters, who also assisted at the crash, extinguished the fire. Timberline is a lumber and building materials company that purchased Gove Lumber earlier this year.

Another motorcycle was parked alongside the southbound side of the road during the investigation. It was not clear what role, if any, it had in the crash.

The Massachusetts State Police Accident Investigation Team were called in and assisted Wenham police with the investigation. The cause of the crash has not been released.