2 Motorcycle Crashes Kill Riders in Less than Two Days in Yakima County

A pair of unrelated motorcycle crashes killed 2 riders Sunday and Monday in Yakima County.

   Yakima County Sheriff's Office Says One Rider Possibly Not Wearing Helmet Properly

According to information released Tuesday (August 25th) around 8:40 AM Sunday, Deputies were dispatched to an area near the intersection of . Cowiche Road and Wilcox Road about a single-rider motorcycle crash.  The location was between Tieton and Cowiche.

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Deputies found 45-year-old Gordon Ernhoff--hometown not listed--at the scene, but he was deceased.  No specifics of that crash were released. It is not known if he was wearing a helmet.

   Another 21-Year-Old Rider Died Monday Afternoon

Just after 3 PM, Deputies responded to another single-rider crash near Lateral A Road near Wayback Lane, just west of Wapato.  At the scene they found 21-year-old Armando Villa, who died at the scene despite lifesaving efforts.  The YCSO Traffic Safety Unit says it appears he was traveling at a very high rate of speed north on Lateral A Road, when he lost control and went into a ditch before going airborne.

Deputies said it appears he was possibly wearing a helmet, but was not attatched properly, the helmet was found near the crash scene.  No other details released, both crashes remain under investigation.