Pratt’s Toys for Tots motorcycle run took a tragic turn Sunday when an Isabel rider died after his motorcycle hit a deer.
Rodger House, 60, died at around 7 p.m. from head injuries suffered in the accident, said Kansas Highway Patrol Trooper Mark Crump.
House was southbound on a 2000 Honda on NE 100th Ave. one mile north of Cairo and U.S. 54 when the accident occurred at 1:55 p.m.
A buck deer came out of the west ditch and onto the blacktop. House could not avoid the deer. The bike struck the deer then slid several feet before coming to rest on the east side of the road. House was thrown from the motorcycle and stopped on the west side of the road. He was not wearing a helmet.
Another rider next to House was able to stop his bike and avoided the deer. Toys for Tots riders assisted House until Pratt County Ambulance arrived at the scene.
House was moved by ambulance one mile south to the intersection of NE 100th Ave. and US 54. Traffic was stopped and a LifeTeam helicopter landed in the intersection to take him to Via Christi St. Francis Campus in Wichita where he later died.
The deer was killed in the accident and was in a pasture on the east side of the road.
House was the only person involved in the accident. He was with a group of Toys For Tots Riders at the time of the accident. The riders were from various American Legion Posts and Gabriel’s Thunder, a Christian motorcycle club.
Pratt, Kan. —
