A man who climbed on a buddy’s motorcycle to take a picture in a South Hill church parking lot crashed the bike into a curb and died, according to the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department.
The victim was identified as Antony Karanja, 41, of Kent.
He asked a friend if he could climb onto his friend’s 2016 BMW S1000 Saturday as they were leaving a church in the 7900 block of 112th Street Ct E.
The friend, a 41-year-old Lakewood man, warned Karanja that it was a difficult motorcycle to ride, but agreed to let him take it for a spin around the parking lot.
Karanja lost control of the bike, hit a curb and was thrown into a fence, striking his head, sheriff’s spokesman Ed Troyer said.
A 16-year-old boy who witnessed the crash told deputies Karanja didn’t seem to know how to hit the brakes because the bike picked up speed before it hit the curb.
Although Karanja regained consciousness before paramedics arrived, he later died of his injuries.
sad! unfortunate incident