Two motorcyclists, firefighter die in crashes

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ROSINTON, Alabama — Two motorcyclists and an Escambia County, Florida, firefighter lost their lives in separate crashes Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning, Nov. 5 and 6 in central and north Baldwin County.

On Nov. 5, an Elberta man was killed in a collision involving an SUV and a motorcycle on the Beach Express near Interstate 10, according to a release issued Wednesday by the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency.

Then, in the early morning hours of Nov. 6, a Pensacola man was killed in a collision with a tractor-trailer on County Road 112 near the Florida state line. An Escambia County, Florida, firefighter also lost his life when another tractor-trailer rig crashed into the scene.

Michael Vincent Postles, 33, of Elberta, was traveling northbound on the Baldwin Beach Express at around 8:15 p.m. Nov. 5 when the Kawasaki motorcycle he was riding collided with a 2012 Hyundai Santa Fe traveling southbound, driven by Michael Wesley, 49, of Robertsdale.

The incident occurred at the intersection of the Baldwin Beach Express and Oakdale Drive, located between County Road 64 and County Road 68, just south of Interstate 10 in the Rosinton community of Central Baldwin County.

Shortly after 4 a.m. Nov. 6, 57-year-old Keith Owens of Pensacola, Florida, was killed when the 2017 Yamaha motorcycle he was riding, traveling east on County Road 112 near the Florida state line, collided with a 2011 International tractor-trailer, driven by 52-year-old Patrick Bankester of Bay Minette, who was traveling eastbound.

Owens was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash. Bankester was not injured.

While crews worked to clear the scene, a second crash occurred at the same location when a 1999 Freightliner loaded with logs, driven by 59-year-old Clifton Harrison of Mobile, struck two unoccupied vehicles – a 2007 Peterbilt and a 2011 Dodge truck – before leaving the roadway and striking 41-year-old Dwain Bradshaw of Florida, an Escambia County firefighter who was working alongside the road.

Bradsaw was airlifted to Sacred Heart Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

ALEA State Troopers are conducting ongoing investigations into the circumstances surrounding the crashes.