A 42-year-old Rochester Hills man is hospitalized after sustaining multiple serious injuries when the electric motorcycle he was operating was hit by a pickup truck Tuesday morning in the city.
According to the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office, a preliminary investigation indicates the man had been driving on the sidewalk and then attempted to cross West Avon Road near Old Perch Road, shortly before 7:30 a.m. He was initially in the crosswalk, then traveled outside the crosswalk after a vehicle stopped and blocked it. As he continued across the roadway, he drove into the path of a 2009 Ford Ranger and the two vehicles collided, the sheriff’s office said.
Witnesses reported the Ford Ranger entered the intersection against a red traffic signal, the sheriff’s office said.
The motorcycle driver was not wearing a helmet at the time, the sheriff’s office said. The vehicle wasn’t registered and wasn’t legally permitted to be operated on either the sidewalk or roadway, the sheriff’s office said. A crew from the Rochester Hills Fire Department transported him to Corewell Health Beaumont Troy Hospital where he was listed in stable condition Tuesday afternoon.
The driver of the Ford Ranger, a 20-year-old Lake Orion man, and his passenger, a 20-year-old Rochester Hills woman, weren’t injured in the crash, the sheriff’s office said.
As an investigation into the crash continues, Sheriff Mike Bouchard said he’d like to see additional legislation addressing electric bikes and electric motorcycles.
Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard (file photo/TNS)
“Obviously, we are seeing more crashes and dangerous situations from E-bikes and E-motos,” Bouchard stated in a news release. “The legislature must pass better guard rails on where, how and who can operate these vehicles, as well as require disclosure to potential buyers about where, how, and who may operate them. It is also troubling that people sell kits to make it appear that an E-moto is an E-bike in an attempt to obfuscate illegal use.”
Tuesday’s incident was the second reported serious injury crash in just over a week involving electric motorcycles in Oakland County. On Sept. 7, two 13-year-old boys were critically injured when hit by a pickup truck while crossing Telegraph Road on an electric motorcycle in Bloomfield Township, police said.
The boys had been traveling on the safety path along West Hickory Grove Road and crossing in the crosswalk when they were struck by a Ford F-250 pickup truck headed south on Telegraph Road, just before noon. The driver, a 35-year-old Rochester Hills man, remained at the scene and was cooperating with investigators, police said.
The crosswalk is signaled with a crosswalk path, and the preliminary investigation indicates the pickup truck had a green signal at the time, police said.
Lt. Nick Soley, spokesperson for the Bloomfield Township Police Department, told The Oakland Press on Tuesday that the young driver of the E-moto is in the Intensive Care Unit while the other teen also remains hospitalized. It’s not yet been determined if charges against the pickup truck driver will be sought, he said.
Electric motorcycles, commonly called E-motos, differ from E-bikes as the operator is legally required to have a driver’s license with cycle endorsement, registration and insurance. Also, they have maximum traveling speeds well above those of E-bikes.
Two 13-year-olds critically injured when hit by truck while crossing Telegraph on E-moto