Motorcyclist, passenger injured
FRANKLIN TWP — STAT MedEvac helicopters transported two people involved in a motorcycle crash Friday afternoon on Route 422 in Franklin Township in front of Case's Beer Distributing.
According to a member of the Prospect Volunteer Fire Department, the accident occurred when a motorcycle attempted to pass a truck on the shoulder of Route 422. Both vehicles were traveling east, and the truck was making a right hand turn off the road, into the path of the motorcycle. The motorcycle struck the truck on its side and skidded off the road into a refrigerator sitting on the curb, the firefighter said.
The wreck occurred at 4 p.m., according to emergency dispatch reports.
A few drivers behind the accident stopped at Case's after the accident. One, Spencer Gallagher, said neither victim was wearing a helmet or other protective gear.
Gallagher and others on the scene said both the evacuated victims were on the motorcycle. One victim was a man, the other was a woman.
“I saw the guy laying there and then I saw the woman,” Gallagher said. “At first I thought she was dead. She got thrown at least 30 feet.”The road was closed for about an hour after the accident, with traffic backing up miles in either direction. Route 422 reopened shortly after 5 p.m.The helicopters both landed on the road side-by-side as the patients were boarded. Both victims were taken to University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Presbyterian in Oakland, according to Butler County 911 dispatchers.Emergency responders were not sure why the refrigerator was on the roadside. A nearby building appeared to be mid-rehabilitation, with other items strewn onto the exterior.The motorcycle was a Harley Davidson with maroon highlights.
