An 18-year-old motorcyclist died Monday afternoon when he was struck in the chest by a turkey buzzard.

Dillon Matthew Reed was driving a 2007 Kawasaki east on CR 380 near 39 1/2 Street around 12:45 p.m. when a turkey buzzard flew into him and caused him to lose control. The Bloomingdale man went off the road, hit some trees and died at the scene.

Pat Cantrell likely was one of the last to see Reed alive as she heard and saw his motorcycle whiz by her house.

"And I knew it was him as soon as I seen that little motorcycle, because I had seen him before on it," she said.

Cantrell knows Reed's family and said they were devastated to hear the news.

"It's going to be so bad on them," she told 24 Hour News 8. "They got out here and you should have heard them. They were all in the middle of the road and it was so sad. He was such a nice kid. They were a nice family."

Investigators said Reed was not speeding, alcohol was not a factor and he was wearing his helmet. "No negligent actions" on his part were a factor, the Van Buren County Sheriff's Department said in a release.