Bear in road causes motorcycle wreck
By LYNN OLANOFF Lynn Olanoff - Monday, June 19, 2006
The Express-Times
pennlive.com
"We just came around the corner and he was there," injured rider explains.
U. MT. BETHEL TWP. | A Clinton man broke his hip and dislocated his femur Sunday morning after a bear crossed the path of his motorcycle on Million Dollar Highway.
David K. Woodcox was wearing both a helmet and a spine protector, gear the 44-year-old said saved his life.
"Without it, I'd be gone," he said Sunday afternoon from St. Luke's Hospital in Fountain Hill, where he was listed in fair condition. "Gear is a good thing."
Woodcox was traveling west at 9:20 a.m. on Million Dollar Highway near Heiden Road when he went around a curve and saw a large black bear in the road. Woodcox said he can't remember seeing the bear, but the two friends he was riding with filled him in on the details.
Woodcox was leading his two friends during a game of follow the leader, he said. All three are experienced riders, he said.
"We just came out of corner and there he was," Woodcox said of the bear. "The guys behind me said there was absolutely no warning."
Woodcox hit the brakes on his 2003 Honda RVT 100 motorcycle to avoid striking the bear, Pennsylvania State Police at Belfast said. The motorcycle flipped with the rear of it striking the road, police report.
Woodcox did not hit the bear, according to state police, who said the animal scampered away.
Woodcox said he will be in the hospital through Wednesday when he is scheduled to have surgery on his hip.
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