A 29-year-old Devonshire man died after his motorcycle crashed into a stone wall.

The accident happened on South Road in Devonshire, near the junction with Devon Heights Road, and Police and paramedics arrived to find his body in the road and his motorcycle a few yards away.

The bike was facing west and the rider had been heading east.

The fatality was the thirteenth death on the roads this year and the 98th over the last decade.

In a statement, Premier Dr. Ewart Brown, who is also Transport Minister, said: ?Another family now mourns, and this festive season is marred by another tragedy.

?The loss of life on Bermuda?s roads is tragic at any time but at this time of year our thoughts and prayers are especially with the family of this young man.

?I plead with all road users to exercise caution and travel at or below the sped limit.?

The man?s identity is being withheld until next of kin is notified.

Several people who were driving through the area at around the same time said they witnessed the motorcyclist just a few minutes earlier driving fast.

?He came cross us doing at least 75, 80 mph,? said Anthony Burgess who spotted the motorcyclist in Paget. ?The truck that I was in had to slam brakes to let him get through.?

Police say the crash happened around 9.50 a.m. The weather was clear at the time and the roads were dry.

As police conducted their investigation, South Road was closed between Collector?s Hill and Brighton Hill Road and traffic was re-routed.

Early indications suggest no other vehicle was involved and the rider simply lost control, creating a forceful impact.

?This resulted in the individual being catapulted in the air landing on the road and succumbing to his injuries,? said Police spokesman Dwayne Caines.

An hour after the crash the Road Safety Council held a previously scheduled press conference on traffic safety for the new year.

Acting Council officer David Minors said: ?It is with a solemn note that I say just a few minutes ago, we had our 13th fatality on the roads this year.

?This brings home the message that we must make the effort to ensure our roads are as safe as possible.

?Bermudians, another life has been lost. Let?s make 2007 a year in which safety is our first concern.?

The 2006 year-to-date total of 13 fatalities is the same number reached in 2005. In the past decade, the only other time Bermuda suffered more road deaths was in 1998 when there were 17.

Mr. Burgess, who says he eerily foresaw the outcome yesterday, wished he could have done more.

?If I could have warned him before it happened, stopped him and said: ?hey death is waiting for you at the end of the gate?, then I probably could have saved his life,? he said.