Passenger in motorcycle crash dies of injuries Police release names, continue investigating cause

By Shawn Cunningham
© 2018 Telegraph Publishing LLC

The passenger in Saturday’s motorcycle crash in Chester, Jennifer Reed, 44, of Ascutney, died of her injuries on Sunday night at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, Chester Police have announced.

Her husband, Charles Reed, 62, was pronounced dead at the scene of the Saturday crash. Both were wearing helmets.

Around 4:56 p.m. on Saturday, Chester Police and Fire were called to the accident on Rt. 11 near Motel in the Meadow. Reed had been traveling east and had continued straight ahead instead of negotiating the right hand bend in the road.

His 2009 Harley Davidson collided with a 2014 Ford truck pulling a tandem axle dump trailer driven by Jay Coonradt, 47, of Shaftsbury. Coonradt told police that he pulled to the edge of the road to avoid the crash but to no avail and that the bike and driver became pinned under the truck.

Jennifer Reed was thrown from the motorcycle and sustained a fractured skull, among other injuries.  Neither speed nor alcohol or drug use appears to have been a factor in the crash. An autopsy is being performed on Charles Reed to see if a medical event might have been the cause, police say.