WASHINGTON — Montgomery County police continue to investigate a motorcycle crash on Md. 355/Rockville Pike near the National Institutes of Health that killed a Virginia man Wednesday morning.
Montgomery County police identify the motorcyclist as Francis G. Plati, Jr., 35, of Stafford, Virginia.
The crash, which occurred at 6:11 a.m., involved a Ride On bus and the motorcycle. It shut down all lanes during Wednesday morning’s commute.
The northbound lanes between Cedar Lane and Jones Bridge Road reopened more than four hours after the collision. The southbound lanes reopened just after 11 a.m.
Police say the preliminary investigation indicates that Plati was driving his 2001 Suzuki south on Rockville Pike. The bus, operated by Hyggins Charles, 59, of Silver Spring, was going north and trying to make a left onto South Drive.
“For reasons still under investigation, the vehicles collided in the intersection of Rockville Pike and South Drive,” says a police news release on the accident.
Plati died at the hospital.
There were no passengers on the bus.
Anyone with information is asked to call police at 240-773-6620.
