Authorities identify two people that died in Franklin County motorcycle crash

Crash happened Sunday night at about 10:30 p.m.

BOONES MILL, Va.UPDATE

Authorities have identified the two people that died in a Franklin County motorcycle crash over the weekend. 

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The crash happened around 10:35 Sunday night on Route 739, about two-tenths of a mile east of Route 986, according to police. 

Police say Jesse Stapleton, 25, of Rocky Mount was driving a 2007 Kawasaki Ninja east on Route 739 when his motorcycle ran off the right side of the roadway, down an embankment and into a ditch before catching on fire. 

Stapleton was reportedly wearing his helmet and died at the scene. 

The passenger on the motorcycle, Rodney Craighead, 19 of Lynchburg, was not wearing his helmet and also died at the scene, according to Virginia State Police. 

Authorities say the crash remains under investigaiton. 

ORIGINAL STORY

Two people are dead after a motorcycle ran off the road and caught fire, according to the Boones Mill Volunteer Fire Department.

Volunteers responded to a vehicle fire Sunday night about 10:30 p.m. on Bethlehem Road near Saul Lane, about 5 miles southwest of the town of Boones Mill.

When volunteers arrived, they found that the motorcycle had run off the right side of the road, hit a ditch and caught fire, according to the department.

Two people died in the crash.

The Virginia State Police is investigating the crash.

The names of the victims have not yet been released


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