By DON FLETCHER
News Staff Writer
A September 21 predawn collision between a motorcycle and a light pickup truck sent a Pensacola motorcyclist to an area trauma center with a reportedly serious leg injury.
According to reports filed by Alabama State Troopers, the wreck happened around 5:30 a.m. at the junction of Alabama 21 and Wayside Road.
Troopers reported that James Flowers, 37, of Pensacola was driving his 2008 Suzuki Boulevard along Alabama 21 (the direction of travel was not provided) when his bike collided with a 1999 Ford Ranger driven by 57-year-old Mark Parker of Atmore.
Troopers reported that the Suzuki “struck the truck that was turning from Wayside,” seeming to indicate that the pickup’s driver pulled from Wayside Road and into the motorcyclist’s path.
Parker was not seriously injured in the crash, but Flowers was reportedly flown by medical evacuation helicopter to “an area hospital.” A law enforcement source said the injured man was “most likely” taken to University of South Alabama Medical Center in Mobile but “might possibly” have been flown to Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola, which is closer to his home.
An Atmore radio station cited a local law enforcement official as the source of a report that the Pensacola man’s leg was severed, but other reports are that the leg was only partially severed.
Traffic on the heavily traveled state highway was reportedly brought to a standstill for an indeterminate amount of time as emergency medical personnel, a tow truck and state troopers made their way to the rural wreck site.
No further information was available by Tuesday’s press deadline as state troopers continued their investigation into the crash.