Motorcycle hits deer early this morning; rider killed

An encounter with a deer just after three this morning proved fatal to a southwest Missouri motorcycle rider.

The Highway Patrol says 49-year-old William D. Linclon of Lanagan was southbound on Missouri 59, 3 miles north of Lanagan, when he hit a deer in the roadway and then struck a guardrail.

Linclon, who was not wearing a helmet ,was ejected down an embankment.

He was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident by McDonald County Coroner John Fletcher.

It was Highway Patrol Troop D’s 52nd fatality so far this year in southwest Missouri.