WEST DEER TOWNSHIP, Pa. — A young man is in critical condition tonight after witnesses say a white pickup truck accelerated from behind him, rammed into the dirt bike he was on and dragged him about 200 feet before he was tossed off the bike and left in critical condition.
Crash investigators were on the scene Monday night. We saw lines spray painted on the pavement where the dirt bike driver was thrown and where his bike landed, along with the distance the bike was pushed after being rammed by the pick-up. Rege Kessler lives along Saxonburg Boulevard and was outside on his porch when he heard a loud crashing noise.
“I got up and saw the pick-up truck go up the road and there were pieces flying off of it,” Kessler said.
Kessler said he thought the white pick-up truck took out his mailbox and then took off. He was horrified to learn what really happened.
“All kind of debris on the road and I saw a pile of what looked like blankets and I thought this stuff came out of the truck,” Kessler said. “When I got closer, I saw that it was a body. Further up the road, about 20 feet, was a motorcycle. It was a terrible scene.”
He says the young man was badly hurt and was trying to talk. Neighbors rushed to his side as a medical helicopter was called, flying him to a local trauma center. Kessler says the pastor’s wife at a nearby church witnessed the whole thing. A camera on their property told a story. Kessler watched that video.
“The pick-up truck was following him and finally just hit him,” Kessler said. “He actually pushed him - what is that - 200 feet? That had to be terrible. You just don’t understand people today. It’s terrible out there.”
Kessler says he trusts police will find the person who did this, especially with all of the damage the pick-up truck has.
“Hopefully someone will know who it is,” Kessler added.
We’re also learning that the victim had a family of his own. It’s not clear if the dirt bike he was driving was street-legal or not.
Police have not given any update on whether or not they’ve found the hit-and-run driver.
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