BELFAST, Maine — An injured motorcyclist needed to be taken by helicopter for medical treatment and traffic on U.S. Route 1 was detoured for hours Monday after a police officer tried to make a U-turn on the Belfast Veterans Memorial Bridge.
The accident involving the Belfast Police Department cruiser and the motorcycle happened about 5:45 p.m., according to a media release issued Tuesday morning by the Waldo County Sheriff’s Office. Sgt. Matt Cook of the Belfast Police Department had been traveling west on the Route 1 bridge when he saw the driver of a vehicle in the eastbound lane commit a traffic infraction.
“Sgt. Cook activated his emergency lights and attempted to make a U-turn to pursue the offending vehicle,” Sheriff Jeff Trafton wrote in the news release.
But Mark Belleisle, 58, of Swanville was behind the cruiser on a Yamaha V-Star motorcycle. He hit the driver’s side of the cruiser while Cook was turning. Belleisle suffered broken bones as a result of the crash and was brought by LifeFlight of Maine to Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor for treatment of his injuries. He is reported to be in stable condition, according to the report from the sheriff’s office.
Sgt. Nicholas Oettinger and Deputy Wiley McVety of the sheriff’s office went to the scene of the crash, with Oettinger the primary investigator for the accident. Maine State Police Trooper Michael Pion is reconstructing the accident and the sheriff’s office is continuing the investigation. Officials will release additional information as the investigation continues, according to the sheriff.