The Pioneer Valley has had three serious motorcycle crashes over the past three evenings, beginning Wednesday when a Springfield man was critically injured after colliding with a car on Boston Road.
The debris field from a Boston Road motorcycle accident that seriously injured the rider, who collided with a car Wednesday evening in Springfield.MONSON -- The Pioneer Valley has had three serious motorcycle crashes over the past three consecutive evenings, each of which resulted in a serious or critical injury.
The accidents occurred in Monson, Westfield and Springfield on Friday, Thursday and Wednesday, respectively. Updates on the riders' conditions weren't immediately available early Saturday, but all three incidents remain under investigation.
The latest crash occurred around 8:30 p.m. Friday on Route 32 in Monson. The name of the rider wasn't immediately available from the Monson Police Department, which had no new information about the incident early Saturday morning.
A local TV station said the victim was a 44-year-old man who apparently lost control of his bike while rounding a curve on Route 32, also known as Stafford Road. The incident took place near the Connecticut border, but police didn't indicate the direction in which the man was traveling.
Monson Police Chief Stephen Kozloski told 22News that the motorcycle hit a dirt embankment near 228 Stafford Road.
The man was rushed to Wing Memorial Hospital in Palmer before being airlifted by helicopter to UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester, according to police and media reports.
A Monson police officer contacted by The Republican on Saturday said he didn't have an update on the condition of the man, who reportedly suffered a head injury.
The crash closed a stretch of Route 32, according to 22News. Traffic was rerouted onto May Hill Road, which merges with Hampden Road.
Friday's crash follows evening accidents on Wednesday and Thursday in Springfield and Westfield.
In the former incident, Springfield police said that 23-year-old Vincent Surprenant was critically injured after losing control of his motorcycle on Boston Road around 8 p.m. Wednesday.
Surprenant, of Newbury Street, Springfield, was traveling eastbound at a high rate of speed when he collided with a Nissan Maxima in the vicinity of 600 Boston Road, police said.
As of early Friday morning, Surprenant remained in critical condition at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield.
Springfield Police Sgt. John M. Delaney said Surprenant apparently lost control of the bike while rounding a curve. Surprenant skidded into the westbound lane of Boston Road, clipping the front end of a 2000 Maxima driven by Jorge Mendez, 36, of Morton Street, Springfield, Delaney said.
The impact ripped the right front bumper off the car, police said. The motorcycle eventually came to a stop near the entrance to Dezi’s Jewelry Exchange and Pawn Shop.
Pieces of the bike were scattered over a large section of Boston Road.
On Thursday evening, Westfield police were called to the scene of a collision between a motorcycle and truck around 6:20 p.m. at the intersection of Southampton Road and Falcon Drive.
The Harley Davidson struck a Ford Ranger as the truck turned left onto Falcon Drive, Westfield Police Sgt. Jason Perron said.
Police said the bike broadsided the Ranger, causing extensive damage to both vehicles and serious injuries to the motorcycle rider, whom police declined to identify.
Perron said the rider was taken to the Baystate Medical Center with serious injuries, but the driver of the Ford and his passenger were uninjured.
VIDEO from CBS3 News of Friday night's motorcycle crash in Monson:
THE MAP BELOW shows the approximate location of a Friday night motorcycle crash on Route 32 in Monson that seriously injured the rider: