Fatal motorcycle collision in St. Thomas, Ont. Thursday – London

One person is dead following a motorcycle collision in St. Thomas, Ont., Thursday night.

At 8:30 p.m., Elgin County OPP responded to a report of a collision at the intersection of Elm Street and Coulter Avenue.

According to police, the motorcyclist was travelling westbound on Elm Street when it collided with an SUV turning left onto Coulter Avenue.

The motorcyclist was pronounced dead at the scene.

The victim has been identified as Nicholas Cheeseman, 34, of Port Stanley, Ont.

The investigation remains ongoing.

Additionally, the crash occurred on the same day Western Region OPP held a news conference to bring to light a notable increase officials are seeing in fatal collisions involving motorcycles.

OPP noted that at least 12 motorcyclists have died in collisions in West Region so far this year, up from seven reported during the same period in 2021.

Of the collisions reported in the last eight months, 74 per cent saw the motorcyclist at fault.

“People need to be paying attention to what’s happening around on the roads,” Const. Derek Rogers said on Friday. “It’s critical that you maintain that awareness factor if you want to get where you’re going safely.”