By Linda Bentley | September 16, 2015
Impairment may have been factor in Saturday’s motorcycle accident
CAREFREE – A motorcycle accident over the weekend had Tom Darlington Drive closed off for an extended period of time.
At around 5:45 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 12th, a male driving a black Harley Davidson motorcycle was heading southbound on Tom Darlington Drive from Cave Creek Road.
The rider accelerated upon turning onto Tom Darlington into lane number two and came upon a southbound vehicle. The motorcycle driver swerved into the median lane and passed a witness’ vehicle at a high rate of speed as the roadway curved to the right.
The motorcyclist traveled off the left side of the roadway onto the rock median where he lost control, was ejected from the motorcycle and sustained an extensive head injury.
The posted speed limit in the area is 30 mph and the witness estimated the motorcycle was traveling at around 50 mph when it passed his vehicle.
Although a helicopter was requested and had arrived on the scene, the patient subsequently became a trauma code, which we are told they do not fly.
The air crew rode in the ambulance to assist with patient care as he was transported to John C. Lincoln North Mountain Hospital, where he was last reported to be in critical condition.
Because impairment may have been a factor and due to the severity of his injuries, the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office Vehicular Crimes Unit (VCU) was called out to conduct a more extensive investigation.
MCSO Capt. Kip Rustenburg said VCU is able to conduct a more comprehensive investigation with its state of the art equipment for diagramming and recreating the scene, which is also why the road was closed off for an extended period of time.
