A 38-year-old Reading man died following a motorcycle crash Sunday afternoon on Route 183 in Penn Township, according to the Berks County Coroner’s Office and Pennsylvania State Police.
Emergency calls were received by the Berks County 911 Center at approximately 1:47 p.m. on May 17 reporting that a motorcycle traveling southbound on Route 183 (Bernville Road) struck the rear of a vehicle stopped to turn eastbound onto Shartlesville Road.
The victim was identified as Nicholas V. DePietro, 38, of Reading.
According to Pennsylvania State Police, the crash occurred at approximately 1:50 p.m. near the intersection of Bernville Road and Shartlesville Road. Police said DePietro was operating a 2001 Yamaha V-Star motorcycle southbound on Route 183 when he attempted to swerve around a stopped 2019 Nissan Pathfinder waiting to make a left turn onto Shartlesville Road.
Investigators said the motorcycle collided with the rear of the SUV and DePietro was thrown from the motorcycle, coming to rest near the fog line of the northbound lane of Route 183.
DePietro was transported by Western Berks Ambulance Association to Reading Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 2:42 p.m. by Trauma Dr. Sarah Mathews.
The Berks County Coroner’s Office determined the cause of death to be multiple blunt force injuries, and the manner of death was ruled accidental.
State police said a urinalysis completed by the coroner revealed that DePietro had methamphetamine in his system.
The driver and two passengers in the Nissan Pathfinder, all from Pottsville, were not injured, according to police.
Route 183 between Washington Street and Summer Mountain Road was closed for several hours while Pennsylvania State Police Reading conducted the investigation. The roadway reopened at approximately 5 p.m. Sunday afternoon.