WA man dies in crash after passing motorcycle test

BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Authorities say an 18-year-old Washington state man is dead after he crashed his motorcycle a half-hour after passing his motorcycle license test.

Bellingham Police spokesman Mark Young says David Swift of Sumas and his brother were both on motorcycles when the crash happened Saturday. They had decided to take a curvy road after Swift passed the Department of Licensing test.

Young says Swift had just passed a car and was waving on his brother when he lost control, hit a curb and slid. Paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene.

Whatcom County Medical Examiner Gary Goldfogel says speed and inattention may have contributed to the fatality.

The Bellingham Herald reports (http://is.gd/Ldl5m0 ) Swift was the youngest of seven children. He graduated from high school earlier this year and hoped to join the Air Force.