A 54-year-old Bend man was killed Wednesday afternoon when the motorcycle he was operating turned into the path of a pickup truck at the intersection of Northeast Butler Market and Yeoman roads, police said.

The victim, who was dead at the scene of the crash, has been identified as George Goshert Jr., said Bend police Lt. Kevin Sawyer.

Accident reconstruction officers determined that the pickup’s driver, Wendi Lynn Lankister, 29, also of Bend, was westbound on Butler Market, proceeding with a green signal. Goshert was headed east on Butler Market, trying to turn left (north) onto Yeoman Road, Sawyer said.

Goshert apparently drove into the path of the oncoming truck, whose driver was not injured, Sawyer said. Lankister, who is pregnant, was accompanied by a 16-month-old child who also was unhurt, authorities said.

Goshert was hired by Deschutes County commissioners as project manager for the Bend Public Library, which opened about two years ago, and also had played a similar role in the recent renovation of the Deschutes County Historical Society Museum.

“He did a hell of a job on the library,” said former county commissioner (and current historical society president) Barry Slaughter. He recalled that Goshert had been an engineer with Pennsylvania Power before moving to Bend. “He was a delightful guy and was a guy we relied on, and he did one bang-up job on the library and did the same on the historical center.”

“He loved his motorcycle,” Slaughter said, and also was a familiar face as a bus driver for the shuttles to Mt. Bachelor.

Goshert also was involved with his wife in the handbell choir at First United Methodist Church, where the Rev. Jim Philipson mourned his loss, calling Goshert “a real asset to the community.”

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 23rd, 2001 at 6:48 pm and is filed under Top Stories. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.