Story originally printed in the Tomah Journal or online at www.tomahjournal.com

Published - Sunday, June 01, 2008

Tomah man motorcycle crash victim

The Monroe County Sheriff’s Department identified Brian L. Ashwell, 22, of Tomah, as the man killed in a Sunday motorcycle crash in the town of Adrian.

Ashwell failed to negotiate a curve on Hwy. A about 2:45 a.m., traveled into a ditch and hit a culvert, which catapulted him, according to the sheriff’s department.

Ashwell was an member of the Army National Guard and had returned from a 19-month tour of duty in Iraq in August of 2007. His funeral was held today (Thursday) at the Torkelson Funeral Home. A large group of Ashwell’s family, including his grandmother Carol Peterson and his step-father Mike Murphy, rode motorcycles from the funeral home to the Adrian Cemetery, where Ashwell was interred. Riding along with family members were members of the Patriot Guard.

“He wouldn’t want it any other way,” Peterson said of riding at her grandson’s funeral. “He would love it. He loved his bike.”

All stories copyright 2006 Tomah Journal and other attributed sources.