DES MOINES, Iowa — Two days after the fatal motorcycle accident that left a 34-year-old man dead, friends and family are still looking for answers.

The crashed occurred at SE 30th Street and E MLK Jr. Parkway just before 9 p.m. on Saturday. The 34-year-old victim was treated by friends and bystanders on the scene, performing CPR, before medics arrived and transported him to the hospital. That is where the victim passed away. He had run into a concrete barrier that family and friends say was not properly marked by traffic cones or lights.

That intersection is a construction zone for the southeast connector project, estimated to be completed in 2027. WHO 13 News talked with one of the riders who was following just behind the victim when the crash occurred.

“We was heading northbound, I was a minute behind him or 30 seconds behind him when I come up over the hill here and I see people out of their car and accident and it was you know, it was hard to see,” said Russ Baker, a friend of the victim. “I didn’t see it until about 150, 200 yards back, there were no lights. It was starting to get dark out here. The street lights didn’t work. There was none of these orange cones out here.”

Baker said his friend leaves behind his wife and four children, all under the age of 10. The victim’s name has not been released yet by the Des Moines Police Department.

“Left behind four little babies and you know, I think it all could have been prevented,” said Baker. “… Once it really got dark, it was pitch black down here. And to put a concrete barrier up across the main road is just uncalled for … something needs to be done.”

Baker and the family are wondering why this construction zone was allegedly set up with no indicators of the concrete barrier being there. On top of Baker saying the street lights weren’t on and there were no cones; he also says there was no signage indicating that the road was closed 500 feet ahead.

The family and friends were at the crash site on Sunday evening for a vigil for their loved one. They told WHO 13 News that they had to put the cones back on Sunday evening as they had been removed after they put them there on Saturday night. The cones were removed once again in the early afternoon on Monday.

Des Moines Police told WHO 13 News that all circumstances surrounding every accident is considered by investigators.

“We look at all of the possible significant contributing factors, whether it be speed, control, impairment and the environmental circumstances,” said Sergeant Paul Parizek with DMPD. “You know, was there something in the roadway or is there a design issue there, the engineers expect that from us because this is how they learn a lot of things. So we gather that information, we make that report, and then it’s there for those agencies to take a look at.”

Police said in the initial report that the driver lost control of the vehicle, however the investigation is still ongoing.

The victim’s family and friends told WHO 13 News that he didn’t lose control, he was attempting to correct the motorcycle after thinking he could head down SE 30th Street all the way to E University Avenue. They also shared that he wasn’t impaired that night either.

The City of Des Moines declined to comment on the set up of the construction site and if it was in line with proper protocol.