Parkersburg man dies in motorcycle crash Sunday

The Parkersburg man who was killed in a Sunday afternoon motorcycle accident south of Newton suffered severe head injuries, but the coroner who pronounced him dead in a hospital emergency room said it wasn’t certain whether wearing a helmet would have saved his life.

But Richland County Coroner Randy Kistler did say Kevin Sager, 54, might have been well-served to have been wearing a helmet after his bike skidded on Illinois 130, four miles south of Newton.

Illinois State Police reported that Sager had been southbound on Illinois 130 on his 2007 Harley-Davidson motorcycle, riding with friend Russell Tomblinson, 47, of Olney. ISP said the men were trying to pass a vehicle when they tried to retreat back into the southbound lane because of oncoming traffic.

When they did that, police said, the Sager bike clipped the back of the Tomblinson bike, causing the Sager bike to skid across the roadway and come to rest in a ditch.

Sager was taken to Richland Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead in the emergency room.

Effingham Daily News (IL) -  May 16, 2012

Kevin R. Sager, 54, of Olney, passed away Sunday, May 13, 2012, at Richland Memorial Hospital in Olney as the result of a motorcycle accident that occurred at approximately 5 p.m. Sunday on Ill. Rte. 130 about four miles south of Newton.

Burial in Crest Haven Memorial Park Cemetery in rural Claremont with Reverend Gary Wachtel officiating.

Kevin was born January 16, 1958, to Donald and Bonnie (Kathy) (Burget) Sager in Lawrenceville, Ill.

He worked as a mechanic at Olney Tire. He was Vice President of the Richland County Chapter of the A.B.A.T.E. Motorcycle Organization. He will be sadly missed by his family, friends and all who knew him.

Kevin is survived by his parents, Donald and Kathy; companion, Pat Bailey, of Parkersburg; son, Kevin Sager II and his wife, Ashley, of Olney; four daughters, Amy Quillen and her husband, Mike, of West Salem, Crystal Alshire, of Florida, Amber Lynn, of Vincennes, Ind., and April Sager, of Parkersburg; two brothers, Carl Sager and his wife, Joan, of Claremont, and Mike Sager and his wife, Karen, of West Salem; and eight grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his grandparents, Virgil and Sylvia Burget and Cecil and Debbie Sager.

Published in Olney Daily Mail (IL) ~ May 14, 2012