Motorcyclist injured in crash
BUTLER TWP — A 50-year-old Renfrew man suffered a serious leg injury Sunday afternoon when he crashed his motorcycle on Route 8 near the Northwest Bank branch, authorities said.
Butler Township police did not immediately release the name of the man, who was later flown by medical helicopter to a Pittsburgh hospital. He was conscious and alert after the wreck about 4:05 p.m. Police said he was wearing a full-face helmet.
The man was traveling northbound on Route 8 with another motorcyclist when the two bikers passed Daniel Crouthamel of Seven Fields, who was in a utility truck traveling in the right northbound lane.
“It was a clean pass,” Crouthamel, who believed the man was riding just in back of the other bike.
The two cyclists moved back into the right lane. Moments later, police believe the man crashed, possibly after hitting the curb.
“His back tire kicked out, and he lost control of his bike,” Crouthamel recounted. The cycle's brakes also may have locked up.
“It happened so fast,” Crouthamel said. “It looked like he fell off it sideways and it just dumped him. The bike landed on top of him and he rolled.”
The cycle popped back up onto its wheels, and the riderless bike traveled north another 100 yards, crossing over both southbound lanes before hitting the curb, traveling onto the grass and then returning to the road, where it landed in the southbound lane.
Crouthamel said he stopped and called 911, and checked on the injured man who was on the side of the road near Ann Arbor Lane. Police said it appeared the man had a broken left leg or ankle.
A Butler Ambulance Service crew and Butler Fire Department emergency medical technicians tended to him. He subsequently was taken to the nearby South Butler fire station where a helicopter landed and flew him to the unknown hospital.
The Butler Township Volunteer Fire District assisted at the scene.
