ORION TWP. (WWJ) -- A 79-year-old Pontiac man has died, according to authorities, hours after he lost control of his three-wheel motorcycle and crashed in Orion Township.
The Oakland County Sheriff's Office said John Lewis Blackwell had just picked up the newly-modified 2011 Harley Davidson motorcycle, which was converted from two to three wheels, earlier in the day on Monday.
Officials said Blackwell was headed south on Baldwin Road, west of Clarkston Road, when he lost control on a curve, hit a curb and was ejected from the motorcycle into a ditch.
Blackwell was taken by EMS to a local hospital where he later died of his injuries.
Oakland County Sheriff's Office crash investigators believe Blackwell's unfamiliarity with operating the modified vehicle, sometimes call a "trike," led to the accident.
Alcohol use does not appear to be a factor, officials said, and Blackwell was wearing a helmet.



