HAMILTON, Ohio -- An Ohio police officer is dead after a road rage incident caused him to crash his motorcycle, witnesses said.

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Motorcyclist Allegedly Turned To Make Gesture

Greg Hodges, 44, a part-time police officer with Ross Township, died in the accident just before 7 p.m. Tuesday in Butler County, WLWT reported.

Witnesses said Hodges was passing through traffic when one of the cars he passed honked at him.

Hodges, according to witnesses, turned his head and gestured at the driver of the car. The move caused him to run a red light at the intersection and crash into a car, police said.

Another motorcyclist witnessed the entire incident.

"He was in the berm of the road passing traffic, and he had turned around and made some suggestions to the car behind him and wasn't paying attention and ran right through the red light," the witness said.

Slideshow: Motorcyclist Thrown From Bike

Hodges was thrown from the motorcycle. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The driver of the car, Karen Simmons, 44, of Trenton, and her 14-year-old passenger, were not injured.

The motorcyclist who saw the crash said he will think twice before riding his motorcycle.

"It's a heavy emotion," he said. "You see somebody riding. You don't even know the person, but you feel like you do through the brotherhood of motorcycles and it makes you realize that you can't make a mistake when you're riding a motorcycle."

The driver who allegedly honked his horn at Hodges was too shaken to speak on camera, but he said he wished he had never honked.