Brothers die in head-on motorcycle crash, WV deputies say. ‘Lost both of her sons’

Two brothers died in a head-on motorcycle crash with each other, West Virginia deputies said.

Shawn Dakota Roseberry, 24, and Michael Lee Roseberry, 26, died in the Dec. 9 crash, according to a news release from the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office.

It appeared that one of the brothers left the house on his bike and turned around as the other was leaving, a spokesperson for the sheriff’s office told McClatchy News over the phone.

When they came around a curve, they collided with each other, the spokesperson said.

Investigators said wet roads contributed to the crash. Deputies also said the brothers weren’t wearing helmets, and the bikes weren’t street legal.

The spokesperson said the bikes didn’t have working lights.

“They weren’t able to react in time,” he said.

The crash occurred at around 8 p.m. in Elkview, and both men were pronounced dead on the scene, deputies said.

“This is such a painful time,” someone who knows the family wrote on Facebook. “Their mother unexpectedly lost both of her sons at the same time, my niece lost her (boyfriend), and their son lost his father.”

The younger brother, Shawn Dakota Roseberry, welcomed a son in October.

The brothers’ mother thanked the community for its support on Facebook and said the situation feels “unreal.”

This story was originally published December 11, 2023 at 12:08 PM with the headline "Brothers die in head-on motorcycle crash, WV deputies say. ‘Lost both of her sons’."