Cherohala – An Alabama motorcyclist was airlifted for medical treatment after he ran off the road and crashed on Cherohala Skyway on Aug. 23.
The crash occurred on a sharp bend of Cherohala Skyway between West Buffalo Road and Santeetlah Road, according to the Highway Patrol report.
The rider was identified as 73-year-old Lemuel Dee Weeks, of Margaret, Ala.
Highway Patrol Trooper H.D. Phillips reported that Weeks was riding at about 45 mph in a 45 mph zone, but failed to slow sufficiently at the sharp bend to maintain control. The motorcycle – a 2010 Harley-Davidson, registered in Alabama – slowed to about 25 mph, leaving a skid mark 23 feet long, before leaving the side of the road. It traveled another 23 feet and overturned.
Trooper Phillips estimated the damage at $1,000 and believed that the motorcycle was still rideable.
Volunteers from the Snowbird Fire Department responded to the crash and closed off the skyway (N.C. Highway 143) at the West Buffalo Creek bridge, where a life-flight helicopter landed and transported Weeks for medical care.
Weeks was cited for exceeding safe speed.
No information was available about his condition or the hospital where he was taken.