A 59-year-old Chico man is dead and a 17-year-old passenger was critically injured after a motorcycle collided with an SUV on Farm Road 920 near Bridgeport Tuesday morning. Michael Young was pronounced dead shortly after arriving at the hospital, while the teen riding behind him was flown to Fort Worth in critical condition following the 7:19 a.m. crash.
SUV Turning Onto FM 920 Struck the Motorcycle
The Texas Department of Public Safety confirmed the crash happened at the intersection of FM 920 and County Road 3407, according to the Wise County Messenger. A Chevrolet Trailblazer had been stopped on County Road 3407 while Young's Harley-Davidson motorcycle traveled along FM 920. Per a preliminary DPS investigation, the Trailblazer driver failed to yield the right of way while turning onto FM 920 and struck the motorcycle.
Young was transported to Medical City Decatur in critical condition and was pronounced dead shortly after arriving, DPS said. He lived in Chico, a small community in Wise County. The 17-year-old passenger riding with him was also critically injured in the crash.
Teen Airlifted After Ground Transport to Makeshift Helipad
Emergency crews first moved the teenage passenger by ground ambulance to the helipad at the former hospital facility in Bridgeport before CareFlite flew the teen to Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital in Fort Worth, per the same account. The driver of the Trailblazer, 72-year-old Carolyn Malone of Runaway Bay, was also hospitalized. Wise County EMS Chief Randall Preuninger reported that Malone was transported to Medical City Decatur with serious injuries.
Bridgeport Fire Department, Wise County EMS, the Wise County Sheriff's Office and the Texas Department of Public Safety all responded to the scene. DPS spokesperson Tony De La Cerda said the investigation is ongoing, and no additional information is available.
A Second Fatal Motorcycle Crash on the Same Road This Year
Tuesday's crash marks the second fatal motorcycle wreck on FM 920 in Wise County this year. In June, 56-year-old Weatherford man Shaun Allan Waits was killed in a crash on the same roadway near Private Road 3738, as reported by the Star-Telegram. Investigators determined Waits had been traveling south on FM 920 at an unsafe speed and failed to negotiate a curve while not wearing a helmet, according to that earlier crash report.
Statewide, motorcycle crashes remain a persistent safety concern. According to the Texas Department of Transportation, an average of two motorcyclists die in crashes on Texas roads every day, with 557 riders killed and 2,468 seriously injured in 2025. TxDOT notes that more than half of fatal motorcycle crashes involve collisions with other vehicles, often because drivers simply don't see the motorcycle or misjudge its speed.
