A Bismarck, N.D. man has been identified as the person who died last Wednesday afternoon in a motorcycle crash southeast of Bison.
Preliminary crash information indicates that a 2011 Harley-Davidson FLHTK motorcycle was southbound on Bixby Road near the intersection with Ridgeview Road when the motorcycle went into the ditch.

Vernell Hoechst, the 66-year-old operator, was not wearing a helmet and was thrown from the motorcycle. He was first transported by ambulance to the Hettinger, N.D. hospital and then airlifted to a Bismarck, N.D. hospital where he died.

South Dakota’s Highway Patrol is investigating the crash. All information released so far is only preliminary.