QUILCENE – A Brinnon man died Tuesday night, hours after his motorcycle struck a guardrail on U.S. Highway 101.
Meril Eugene Draper, 50, was flown to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle after the 3:45 p.m. wreck.
He was listed in critical condition with head injuries before he was pronounced dead late Tuesday.
Draper was traveling south on a 1986 Honda Gold Wing motorcycle near Hiddendale Drive in the Mount Walker area three miles south of Quilcene, according to the State Patrol.
The motorcycle left the road to the right, struck the guardrail, throwing Draper from the motorcycle, said the State Patrol in a written statement.
Draper was wearing a helmet.
The motorcycle came to rest on the northbound shoulder of the road, according to the State Patrol.
Highway 101 was closed to traffic until 4:40 p.m., when it was opened to only one lane.
All lanes were reopened at 6:17 p.m., said state Department of Transportation spokesman Richard Langlois.
The motorcycle received about $1,000 in damage.
Jefferson County fire agencies from Quilcene, Brinnon and Port Ludlow assisted.
