Motorcyclist killed in accident involving bus on Rockville Pike in Bethesda

BETHESDA, Md. - A deadly accident near the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda snarled traffic for the morning rush hour.

Rockville Pike at South Drive reopened around 10:40 a.m., but it was closed for several hours as authorities reconstructed the accident involving a motorcycle and a bus.

Police confirm the person on the motorcycle, 35-year-old Francis G. Plati Jr., was killed.

At 6:15 a.m., police say the victim was traveling south on Rockville Pike when he collided with a Ride On bus that was going north and attempted to make a left turn.

FOX 5's Bob Barnard reports that Plati was a nurse at the NIH Clinical Center.