Motorcyclist Dies When He Hits Wife's Vehicle

A motorcyclist was killed in a head-on collision with his wife's car in Union County after they had left a social gathering where police say the man had been drinking.

Investigators say the couple's three children were in the wife's car when the Sunday evening crash occurred.

Killed was 34-year-old Michael Barnes of El Dorado. State police say his wife, Tasha Shaw, was not hurt. The children in the Lincoln Continental, ages 5, 2 and 8 months, were taken to a hospital for minor injuries.

Union County sheriff's investigators say the gathering was in the rural Urbana community and that the crash happened on a curve on a county road. Witnesses reported that Barnes had been drinking heavily and deputies say alcohol was a factor in the crash. The investigation is continuing, but officials say there is no indication the crash was intentional.

Barnes was pronounced dead at the scene.