Motorcyclist dies in Yellowstone crash

A motorcyclist waskilled in Yellowstone National Park on Tuesday afternoon.

The accident occurred shortly before 5 p.m., between Madison Junction and the Gibbons Falls overlook, the park said Thursday morning.

The motorcyclist, James Michael Cody, 52, of Wright, Wyo., was declared dead at the scene.

A sport utility vehicle traveling southbound crossed the center line of the road on a crest of a hill and into the path of three oncoming motorcycles.

Cody, who was in the lead, had no time to react and was struck and killed instantly.

The other riders, who were traveling behind Cody, were able to lay their motorcycles down on their side and avoid colliding with the SUV. The solo rider on one of the motorcycles was transported to the hospital by ambulance with injuries that were not life-threatening. The two people on the other motorcycle were treated at the scene for minor injuries.

Preliminary information from the investigation indicates the driver of the SUV may have nodded off momentarily, resulting in the SUV crossing the center line and impacting the motorcyclist head-on. The accident remains under investigation.