A motorcycle rider was badly injured Friday after crashing into a concrete barrier on Route 67 and falling off a bridge into Hoadley Pond.
Erik Turski, 22, of Seymour, was listed in critical condition at Yale-New Haven Hospital as of 12 a.m. Saturday, a clinical supervisor at the hospital said.
Turski was thrown from his 1991 Harley Davidson and fell some 15 feet off the bridge and into the water.
Police, firefighters and emergency medical responders jumped into the mucky waters to help pull Turski out.
Several people who came upon the accident, including a Bridgeport fireman, also jumped into the water to help, according to police officers on scene. Police did not identify those people.
The crash happened at about 4 p.m.
Turski’s precise injuries were not known but initial radio dispatches said he was suffering from an “obvious leg injury.”
There were no other vehicles involved in the crash.
Kyle Kelley, assistant chief of the Seymour Ambulance Association, was one of several first responders who went into the water to rescue Turski.
“It’s very muddy and deep,” Kelley said, as he let his wet socks air out after the rescue.
Turski had to be lifted out of the pond in a fire rescue basket.
Photo: Jodie Mozdzer Kyle Kelley leans against the concrete barrier over Hoadley Pond in Seymour Friday, after he jumped into the pond to help save a motorcyclist in the water.
Witnesses on scene said Turski was driving fast on Route 67 heading east, and lost control of the motorcycle near the intersection of Bank and West streets, according to Police Chief Michael E. Metzler.
Metzler said after sliding a few hundred feet, the motorcycle and its rider hit the barrier on the bridge, which launched him over the side and into the water.
The bridge is immediately after a slight curve in the road, and has been the scene of accidents in the past, Metzler said.
“It’s been several years since we’ve had somebody in this pond,” Metzler said. “I’d say it’s been ten years.”
Photo: Jodie Mozdzer Emergency responders at the Route 67 bridge over Hoadley Pond in Seymour.
It wasn’t immediately clear if Turski was wearing a helmet.
