Separate crashes within hours in Oregon kill 2 motorcyclists who hit backs of stopped vehicles

"Police Line Do Not Cross" caution tape

Mark Graves/The OregonianMark Graves

Two motorcyclists died within hours of each other after hitting the backs of cars in separate highway incidents Wednesday, Oregon State Police said.

Shortly before 5 p.m., Michael Smith, 70, of Redmond hit the back of a 2018 Ford truck on U.S. 20 waiting to turn onto Jordan Road in Deschutes County. He died before emergency personnel could take him to a hospital, police said. The Ford driver was uninjured.

Then after 7 p.m., Matthew Elinsky, 53, of Manzanita hit the back of a Jeep Cherokee waiting in traffic on U.S. 101 near Gearhart, police said. Responders pronounced Elinsky dead from injuries. The Jeep driver was uninjured.

— Ryan Nguyen; rnguyen@oregonian.com; @ryanjjnguyen

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