UPDATE: Fatal Motorcycle Accident on Interstate 70

Shortly after 4:30 Friday evening, authorities responded to the scene of a fatal motorcycle accident on Interstate 70 East near the Gratiot Exit.

The Zanesville Post of the State Highway Patrol said 30-year-old Edgardo Muniz Gonzalez of Columbus was riding a white Kawasaki EX300 when he went off the right side of the road and crashed into the guardrail near mile marker 142.  The patrol said he was wearing a helmet but that the helmet was found several feet from the initial crash.  Gonzalez was pronounced dead on arrival.

Eastbound traffic was closed for a short time while crews responded and was restricted to one lane for approximately two hours.

The cause of the accident is unknown at this time, and the Zanesville Post of the State Highway Patrol is looking for witnesses who may have seen the crash.  If you have any information, you are asked to call the state patrol at 740-453-0541.  The crash remains under investigation.