HERMON – A Holden man was killed Wednesday when his motorcycle veered off Route 2, struck a snowbank and traveled 31 feet through the air before landing in a ditch.

Ronald Ferland, 64, was headed west at 10:40 a.m. on Route 2 near the Blackstream Road when his 1999 Yamaha crossed the centerline and struck a snowbank on the opposite side of the road, according to Sgt. Bill Laughlin of the Penobscot County Sheriff’s Department.

“Speed didn’t seem to be a factor,” Laughlin said, adding that police believe a medical problem may have caused Ferland to go off the road.

The accident remained under investigation Wednesday and the state medical examiner’s office was notified, said Laughlin, who was first to arrive on the accident scene.

Ferland was seen at a stoplight in Hermon village approximately 15 minutes before the accident, but no one witnessed him go off the road, Laughlin said.

Officials from the Penobscot County Sheriff’s Department reconstructed the accident scene Wednesday.

Ferland was lying facedown next to motorcycle when he arrived, Laughlin said. He was unresponsive and was not breathing, but Laughlin said he could feel a light pulse.

Ferland was wearing a helmet, the sergeant said.

No skid marks, debris or potholes were found in the road near the accident, though a tire mark was visible in a snowbank on the eastbound side of the road. The motorcycle lay on its side and appeared minimally damaged.

Rescue personnel were seen administering CPR for several minutes Wednesday before Ferland was loaded into an ambulance. He was transported to Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor, where he died upon arrival, Laughlin said.

Hermon Ambulance, Hermon Fire and Bangor Ambulance responded to the scene.

A section of Route 2 was shut down after the accident and then reopened to one lane at approximately 11:30 a.m. Police cleared the scene about an hour later, Laughlin said.