72-year-old motorcyclist killed in Woodstock crash

A 72-year-old man was killed in a motorcycle crash Sunday morning in northwest suburban Woodstock.

Donald E. Hansen, of Woodstock, was driving a 2006 Harley-Davidson Softail Deluxe east at 11:03 a.m. on Kishwaukee Valley Road when he drove off the right side of the curved roadway just west of Vermont Road, according to the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office and the McHenry County Coroner’s Office.

The bike went through the ditch and over Vermont Road, coming to a rest on the east side of Vermont, the sheriff’s office said. The driver was thrown from the motorcycle during the crash and suffered multiple injuries.

Hansen was taken to Centegra Hospital in Woodstock, where he was pronounced dead at 12:04 p.m., authorities said. He was not wearing a helmet at the time of the crash.

An autopsy performed Monday found Hansen died from blunt trauma to the head, the coroner’s office said.

The sheriff’s office said no mechanical issues were found with the motorcycle and “the driver’s motorcycle operational abilities were believed to have contributed to the crash.”