Two injured in motorcycle accident
EAST BETHLEHEM TWP. – Two men were taken to hospitals Thursday afternoon following an accident on Route 88 involving a motorcycle and a car. According to witnesses, Malcolm Lomax of Monessen, who is believed to be in his mid to late 50’s, was one of four motorcyclists turning left from Main Street onto Route 88 North near the Greene County line around 3:52 p.m. One motorcycle made the turn. Lomax was second to pull out and had nearly completed the turn when his motorcycle and a car operated by Gerald Bailey, 46, of Jefferson collided.
“I looked in my rear view mirror and saw it happen,” said Cecil Tartt of Donora, one of Lomax’s friends. “He went straight up in the air. He got a compound fracture of his left leg and the right leg was broken.”
Lomax was not wearing a helmet and reportedly also received head injuries. He was flown by helicopter from Ten Mile Park where the East Bethlehem Township Volunteer Fire Department set up a landing zone. Lomax was taken to Mercy Hospital in Pittsburgh. A condition report was not available Thursday night.
While Lomax was thrown over the car after striking the windshield, the motorcycle he had been riding slid 215 feet south after the impact, stopping in the center of the bridge. Bailey’s car came to rest across the northbound lane prior to the bridge. The airbag had deployed and there was heavy damage to the front of the vehicle. Bailey was taken to Uniontown Hospital for treatment. No information on his injuries or condition was available.
East Bethlehem First Assistant Fire Chief Bill Doriguzzi said the intersection, which is just after a bend in the road that briefly points southbound traffic to the west, is the scene of numerous accidents.
“This is just a bad intersection. We’ve picked up a lot of bikes and a lot of cars. This time of day, you can’t see because the sun’s in your eyes,” Doriguzzi said.
According to state police at the scene, there were no skid marks prior to the point of impact.
The East Bethlehem fire department was assisted at the scene by the Clarksville and Community Volunteer Fire Department and EMS and Brownsville Ambulance Service Inc.