SANDSTONE, W.Va. — A married couple from Beckley have been identified as the two people who died this weekend when their motorcycle crashed into a bear on I-64 in Summers County.
Roger Bartusiak, 56, and his wife Melissa Bartusiak, 55, struck a bear at mile marker 139.5 near Sandstone in the westbound lanes Saturday night.
The couple was pronounced dead at the scene, according to Summers County Sheriff Justin Faris.
“A smaller bear entered the roadway. At that time, the motorcycle struck the bear. It was a very violent crash. Both passed away from their injuries,” Faris said.
Faris said bear strikes are becoming more common in the county this time of year.
“Recently we’ve had several bears struck by a vehicle. I don’t know if the bear population is up, but in the recent years we’ve had several on I-64,” he said.
Deers are often hit by vehicles too, but Faris said they’re usually easier to spot compared to a bear. He said Summers County averages about 4-5 deer hits per week.
“The bears aren’t as fast as deer and aren’t able to get out of the way. There’s definitely not as many bears than deer,” he said. “We’ve had several, especially at nighttime where the bears are black and they don’t stand out as much.”
The most recent crash happened just before the sun went down. Faris said it could’ve been avoided.
“It was still pretty daylight at that time. It wasn’t dark yet. It was dusk and still had a high visibility at that time,” he said.
The wreck resulted in the closure of all I-64 westbound lanes in the Sandstone area for about three hours.