MONROE — A 53-year-old Janesville man, formerly of Brodhead, was killed in a motorcycle crash last Thursday, June 22.

The crash happened just after 4:30 a.m. on Wis. 11, near County Road WC, in the town of Janesville. The rider, Jeff Harding, was a former Brodhead resident and worked at Kuhn.

Police said their investigation showed a 2017 Kia SUV was driving east on Wis. 11, driven by Keith Rose, and collided with a 2003 Harley Davidson motorcycle driven by Harding that was westbound on Wis. 11. 

“The SUV crossed the centerline and collided with the motorcycle head-on in the westbound lane,” police said in a statement. “The operator of the motorcycle sustained injuries as a result of the crash. Lifesaving measures were attempted at the scene, but were unsuccessful and the 53-year-old (victim) was later pronounced dead at the scene by a Rock County Medical Examiner Investigator.”

Meanwhile, police said, a 47-year-old passenger in the SUV sustained minor injuries and was transported to Mercy Hospital by EMS crews. Rose was arrested on a charge of Homicide by Intoxicated Use of a Motor Vehicle, OWI 2nd offense, OWI cause injury, possession of drug paraphernalia and a probation hold. 

The Rock County Sheriff’s Office Crash Reconstruction Team assisted with the investigation, which police said is ongoing.

Harding graduated from Brodhead High School in 1987, where he played football and wrestled, according to a published obituary.

According to court records, Rose’s most recent address was in Evansville. In 2017, he was charged with manufacture/deliver methamphetamine, possession of methamphetamine, maintaining a drug trafficking place, and other crimes.

In May, 2022, records indicate that Rose completed a substance abuse program while in the Wisconsin Dept. of Corrections.