A 22-year-old Richlands man died following a motorcycle crash in Jacksonville Tuesday night, and police are asking for the public’s help locating a vehicle that fled the scene.
According to the Jacksonville Police Department, officers responded to a crash at North Marine Boulevard and Queens Road around 8:38 p.m. Oct. 27. Police identified the motorcyclist as Kendall Papenfuse, 22, of Richlands.
Investigators said Papenfuse was riding a black Harley-Davidson motorcycle along North Marine Boulevard when an unidentified vehicle attempted to turn left onto the road and failed to yield. Police said Papenfuse lost control of his motorcycle, was thrown from it and struck the front bumper of a silver Nissan Altima. The driver of the Altima was not injured.
First responders performed CPR on Papenfuse at the scene before transporting him to Naval Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
Police searching for vehicle that fled scene
The Jacksonville Police Department’s Traffic Division is asking for help identifying and locating the vehicle that left the scene.
Investigators believe the vehicle may be a smaller SUV, possibly a Hyundai, with damage to its left rear corner. Police said the vehicle was last seen turning from Queens Road and traveling north on U.S. 17.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Investigator J. Merriman at 910-938-6454 or jmerriman@jacksonvillenc.gov. Tips can also be submitted anonymously through Crime Stoppers at 910-750-7082. Crime Stoppers offers rewards of up to $5,000 for information determined to be valuable to law enforcement.
Anonymous tips can also be texted to 274637 by entering TIP4CSJAX followed by the message.