DECATUR - A coroner's jury found Wednesday that the death of a Decatur motorcyclist in May was accidental.

Joshua T. Delatorre, 26, died May 21 after the motorcycle he was driving collided with a car turning onto Karen Drive off MacArthur Road. According to investigators, the northbound vehicle was attempting to turn left onto Karen Drive when it collided with the southbound motorcycle.

Delatorre, who was pronounced dead at the scene, suffered massive head and torso trauma after he was thrown from the motorcycle.

The jury was asked during an inquest to consider what, if any, effect a high level of carbon monoxide found to be in Delatorre's system played in his death. Officer George Kestner, a fatal accident investigator with the Decatur Police Department, testified witnesses reported a motorcycle weaving in and out of traffic at speeds believed to be at least 70 to 80 mph.

Kestner said he was told by Delatorre's wife that the victim was rushing to Decatur Memorial Hospital after learning his father-in-law was ill. Delatorre and his father-in-law were believed to have been working on a project with a gas blowtorch in a basement shortly before the collision, Kestner said.

Delatorre was found to have a 38 percent saturation of carbon monoxide in his system at the time, Macon County Coroner Michael E. Day said. A 50 percent or higher saturation is considered fatal for most people, Day said.

A normal saturation is 1 percent to 2 percent, Day said. Cigarette smokers can have anywhere between 3 percent and 10 percent saturation, Day said.

"A 38 percent saturation, of course, it's very, very elevated," Day said.

Carbon monoxide can affect people in different ways, with numerous potential side effects given the level in the person's system, Day said. Side effects include an impact on being able to judge distance, speed and overall awareness, Day said.

Delatorre's father-in-law was airlifted to Chicago with what was believed to be carbon monoxide poisoning, Kestner said. The officer did not know what the father-in-law's carbon monoxide level was at the time.

The inquest was necessary to conclude the coroner's investigation, Day said. He said the death certificate can now be finalized.

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