Motorcyclist killed in Kent crash Wednesday identified | Update

A 23-year-old man died in the collision Wednesday afternoon in Kent near the intersection of Willis Street and Washington Avenue South, just north of LA Fitness.

Karrell Taylor died from multiple blunt force injuries, according to the King County Medical Examiner’s Office media report on Thursday. Taylor was driving a motorcycle that collided with a truck at about 2:39 p.m., according to Kent Police.

The truck was turning from Willis Street to get onto southbound Highway 167 and reportedly had a flashing yellow arrow, said Assistant Police Chief Jarod Kasner in an email Thursday. The motorcyclist may have been traveling at an excessive speed, Kasner said.

The driver of the truck was cooperative and consented to a blood draw, Kasner said. He did not appear to be under the influence of any substance.

Officers arrived within minutes after the crash and life-saving efforts were immediately undertaken, but Taylor died at the scene.

The on-ramp to southbound Highway 167 from Willis Street was temporarily closed because of the crash, according to Kent Police.

Four deaths in four months

This marks the fourth death of a motorcyclist in the Kent area in the last four months.

• On June 6, Dylan A. Hague, 28, of Kent, was killed when his motorcycle crashed into the back of a construction truck setting signage just after midnight along Highway 167 in Kent.

• On June 7, a 36-year-old San Jose, Calif., man died after his motorcycle crashed at about 3:55 p.m. while northbound on Highway 167 in Pacific (south of Kent) near the Ellingson Road exit, according to the Washington State Patrol.

• On June 28, Sergey Pavlovich, 18, of Kent, died of multiple blunt force injury when he collided with a Kent Police SUV in the 13700 block of Southeast 256th Street.