Headline Surfer® graphic / NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. -- A 30-year-old Edgewater man was killed on this Christmas holiday when he struck a Palm tree with his motorcycle and splitting it in half while "traveling at a high rate of speed in the 500 block of North Riverside Drive, cops said.
Matheu W. Laurrell was pronounced dead at the scene. He was not wearing a helmet.
Here's a synopsis of what happened in the fatal accident at 1:50 p.m. as reported by New Smyrna Beach Police Sgt. Valerie Joyce: NSBPD Officers and Paramedics responded to a report of a motorcyclist who struck a tree.
Paramedics pronounced the rider deceased at the scene. After interviewing witnesses and examining the crash site, a preliminary investigation revealed Laurrell was traveling at a high rate of speed when he lost control of his motorcycle and crashed into a palm tree which split in half upon impact.
The make and model of the motorcycle he was riding was not included in a press release.