Greenland Mayor In Hospital After Wreck
Weekend Motorcycle Outing Turns Tragic
Last updated Monday, October 27, 2008 7:53 PM CDT in News
By Bob Caudle
THE MORNING NEWS
Greenland Mayor John Gray, 65, is in Washington Regional Medical Center after a motorcycle accident Sunday.
A spokeswoman at Greenland City Hall said Gray was riding his motorcycle, returning from Jasper to Greenland with a friend, when Gray lost control of the motorcycle, struck a guardrail and the mayor flipped off the motorcycle and into a ravine.
According to the spokeswoman, Gray suffered a broken pelvis, broken leg and lost a large amount of blood.
Gray was airlifted to Washington Regional Medical Center where he was admitted in critical condition, the spokeswoman said.
Gray's condition has been upgraded to fair by Monday evening, according to officials with Washington Regional Medical Center.
Charlie Brooks, who retired as a corporal with the Arkansas State Police after 37 years of service, was Gray's riding partner for the day trip from Fayetteville to Jasper.
"John was in front of me about 200 to 300 yards and was doing fine," Brooks said Monday. "He wasn't going any more than 35 mph when he sideswiped the guardrail and went over it."
Brooks said Gray's motorcycle continued upright for another 200 to 300 feet before falling over into the ditch.
"I've ridden motorcycles all over the United States and this is the first time I've seen one crash," Brooks said. "He's on it one minute, everything's fine, then in one-one-thousandth of a second, he's over the guardrail and the bike is going down the road without a rider. It was weird."
Brooks said the accident happened on Arkansas 74 west of Jasper. The two were westbound and going around a curve when Gray sideswiped the guardrail, Brooks said.
"He hadn't been riding that long, but he hadn't had any trouble," Brooks said. "I don't really know what happened. The guardrails are awful close to the roadway in that area because of the steep terrain."
Gray was wearing a helmet, Brooks said, which probably helped save his life.
"There were marks on the helmet where it had hit rocks on the way down," Brooks said. "He's lucky he wasn't hurt any worse than he was."
Brooks said Gray was riding a Honda Rebel, a medium-sized motorcycle.
According to a spokeswoman with Arkansas State Police I in Harrison, the state police officer who worked the accident did not write a news release and an accident report will not be ready until Friday.
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