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Camp Lejeune Marine dies in motorcycle crash

A Marine from Camp Lejeune, N.C., died off-base Saturday when his motorcycle struck a vehicle that had pulled out in front of him, police said.

Zachary Adam Stein, 19, of 3rd Battalion, 9th Marines, died after striking a car at about 10:26 a.m. while traveling north on Route 133 in Brunswick County, N.C., said Trooper J.E. Brewer, a North Carolina Highway Patrol spokesman.

Stein was wearing a helmet at the time of the crash and was traveling an estimated 45 miles per hour in a 40 mile-per-hour zone, Brewer said. Alcohol and speed were not factors in the wreck, police said.

Authorities said Stein and the motorcycle crashed into the car’s driver side door. Matthew Magee, 21, of Burlington, Ky., was charged with misdemeanor death by motor vehicle after authorities determined he should have yielded the right of way to Stein, Brewer said.

Stein is at least the 24th Marine killed in a motorcycle crash in fiscal 2008, extending a Marine Corps record. The Corps’ previous motorcycle fatality record was 19, set in fiscal 2007.

Authorities said Monday afternoon that Stein’s rank was unavailable. Camp Lejeune officials could not be reached.