A 70-year-old man died in a motorcycle accident on Route 61 near Shoemakersville on Thursday afternoon, authorities said.
Patrick M. Powers lost control of his cruiser-style motorcycle while traveling north around 12:40 p.m., according to State Police at Hamburg. The incident occurred just north of Shoemakersville Road, where the motorcycle veered off the right shoulder, traveled approximately 100 feet up an embankment, and flipped over upon returning to the roadway.
Emergency responders from Northern Berks Ambulance provided lifesaving treatment on-site before transporting Powers to Reading Hospital. He was wearing a helmet at the time of the accident.
Powers was pronounced dead by a physician at the hospital at 3:02 p.m. The Berks County Coroner, Matthew J. Stitzel, confirmed the cause of death as blunt force trauma, ruling the manner of death as accidental. Powers is noted as the 22nd traffic fatality this year in Berks County, with three involving motorcycles.