The Lockport man killed after his motorcycle collided with a deer on Purdy Road Monday morning has been identified as Shawn Wheaton, 37, by the Niagara County Sheriff’s Office.
The sheriff’s office fielded a 911 call about a motorcycle accident on the 4300 block of Purdy Road at 6:57 a.m. Monday.
Responding deputies determined that Wheaton had hit a deer, then left the roadway and struck a telephone pole, sometime overnight. Wheaton was found dead at the scene.
Sheriff Michael Filicetti said it appears the collision occurred several hours before it was reported.
“When you came down the road, it was very difficult to see the motorcycle or the operator. In the middle of the night, there’s not a lot of traffic through there,” he said.
Wheaton was wearing a motorcycle helmet, the sheriff added.
The collision remains under review by the sheriff’s Accident Investigation Unit.