STEUBEN COUNTY, Ind. (WOWO) – A Fremont man is dead after a truck collided with his motorcycle east of Orland on Sunday afternoon.

Just before 12:30, Steuben County Sheriff’s deputies responded to the intersection of State Road 120 and County Road 600 West in rural Milgrove Township for a report of a two-vehicle crash involving a motorcycle.

Upon arriving at the scene, initial responding deputies located a white pickup truck in the middle of the intersection and a black motorcycle down on the ground on the south side of SR 120 just east of CR 600 W.  A man, later identified as 41-year-old Stephen Mesta, was laying on the ground adjacent to the motorcycle.

Initial crash scene investigation indicated that a white 2010 Nissan Titan was traveling west on SR 120 approaching the intersection at CR 600 W while a black 1996 Harley-Davidson FXD motorcycle was traveling east on SR 120.  Once at the intersection, the Nissan Titan driven by 42-year-old Walter Marler II of Orland,  began to make a left hand turn onto CR 600 W from SR 120.

Marler indicated that he failed to see Mesta’s motorcycle and turned into its path. The two vehicles collided in the intersection causing Mesta to be thrown from his motorcycle. Despite life saving efforts by first responders, Mesta was unable to be resuscitated and died at the scene from apparent blunt force trauma.

Mesta was not wearing a helmet at the time of the crash.