WILTON – Two motorcyclists were seriously injured Friday night when their bikes collided on Route 2 in Wilton.
Investigating Wilton officer Terry Warren said Saturday morning that Daryl Gibson, 38, of Mechanic Falls, suffered a severe leg injury, head trauma and road rash.
Matthew Bilodeau, 52, of Fayette, suffered arm and head injuries, and road rash.
They were not wearing helmets.
Both Gibson and Warren were taken by LifeStar Ambulance to Franklin Memorial Hospital in Farmington.
An FMH spokeswoman said Saturday that both men were treated, then transferred later Friday by ambulance to Maine Medical Center in Portland.
Late Saturday afternoon, a Medical Center nursing supervisor said the two men were both in fair condition.
Warren said the wreck occurred shortly after the two men became separated from a larger group of motorcyclists.
At about 9:05 p.m., the group rumbled through East Dixfield village, passing Wilton officer Blaine Rackliff, who was doing a radar detail, Warren said.
Rackliff radioed for assistance and chased “a bunch of them” down Route 17 before stopping them, said Warren, who responded to the call for help along with Dixfield officer Mark Dow.
Gibson and Bilodeau, who were leading the pack, continued eastbound on Route 2, not realizing that the rest of the group had diverted onto Route 17.
A short distance up Route 2, however, Gibson, who was driving a 1987 Harley, slowed to make a U-turn, going left, Warren said.
That’s when Bilodeau, who was driving a 1972 Harley, “plowed into Gibson,” he said.
Route 2 was shut down for 45 minutes while responders tended to the two men and cleared debris. Wilton and East Dixfield firefighters diverted westbound traffic around the scene on More Acres Road, and eastbound traffic on Route 17.
Routine blood alcohol tests were administered to both Gibson and Bilodeau. Warren said he believes speed and alcohol may have been factors in the wreck, but he won’t know for sure until his investigation is completed.
Bilodeau’s motorcycle sustained an estimated $3,500 in damages; Gibson’s an estimated $4,000. They were removed by a tow truck from Collins Enterprises Inc. of Wilton.
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