A 23-year-old Lawrence man was killed Saturday when a pickup truck struck his motorcycle in the 2500 block of West Sixth Street.
Matthew Thompson was westbound on the inside lane of Sixth Street about 3:45 p.m. when a maroon 1997 Chevy S-10 extended cab pickup pulled out of a driveway of the Graystone apartment complex near the intersection of Sixth Street and Crestline Drive and struck him. The pickup was driven by Heather Nguyen, 22, of Lawrence.
Thompson was pronounced dead at the scene.
Traffic on the busy thoroughfare was shut down from about 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. while police and medical crews worked, causing traffic bottlenecks across the area.
Police spokesman Sgt. Paul Fellers said later the case was still under investigation and no citations had been issued.
It was not known whether Thompson was wearing a helmet.
Thompson was a construction worker who attended Lawrence Alternative High School. His family was from Kansas. He had two older sisters.
Friends and family members said he was a generous person who loved to ride his motorcycle.
Thompson's roommate, Craig Lang, said the death had been difficult to take.
"It hasn't even really hit me yet," Lang said. "He was a good person who would give you the shirt off his back."
Eric Nicholson, a friend of Thompson's since the two were teens, said he was a devoted friend and hard worker. "Everything he tried, he put 100 percent into."
Thompson's sister Amy, who lives in California, also said her brother was a giving person who loved practicing martial arts.
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