PWC Employee Killed in Motorcycle Crash

Fairfax County, Va. –– Prince William County’s neighborhood code enforcement chief was killed in a motorcycle crash.

William Tyler Cowherd, 45, of Annandale, was killed while riding with a female passenger on his bike and alongside another bike operated by a 50-year-old Manassas man at the intersection of Twinbrook and Braddock roads, near the main campus of George Mason University, about 7 p.m. Saturday.

Police say both motorcycle operators applied their brakes suddenly when a woman driving a 1997 Lexus sedan on westbound Braddock Road tuned left onto Twinbrook Road.

Despite efforts to slow down, the motorcycles collided with the passenger side of the car.

Cowherd, his female passenger, and the Manassas man were all taken to a local hospital.

Cowherd later died, and the woman and man from Manassas are expected to live though their injuries are serious, said Fairfax County police.

The woman driving the Lexus stayed on the scene of the crash.

Police say all of the motorcyclists were wearing helmets, and that speed and alcohol do not appear to be factors in the crash.

In 2008, Cowerd nominated a fellow county employee for recognition after she helped a woman who was living in a house filled with garbage get help to clean it up.

Cowerd’s death marks the 20th fatal crash this year in Fairfax County.