The driver of a flatbed truck is suspected of hitting a motorcyclist and leaving the scene of the crash Friday morning on U.S. Highway 550 south of Durango, according to the Colorado State Patrol.
The driver of the motorcycle was airlifted to a local hospital in serious condition.
The crash was reported at 7:34 a.m. near mile marker 7 near County Road 217, which is south of Sunnyside Elementary School and atop Bondad Hill on the Florida Mesa.
The State Patrol did not immediately have a crash description, but Trooper Hunter Mathews said a Dodge Ram 2500 dually hit a Harley-Davidson motorcycle and then fled the scene.
The motorcyclist was described as a 40-year-old man from Durango.
The Dodge Ram flatbed truck was located and stopped near the Grandview interchange in Durango, Mathews said.
The driver was described as a 34-year-old man from New Mexico. He was arrested in connection with the crash, but no specific charges were immediately available.
The State Patrol declined to release the name of the truck driver or the motorcyclist’s name pending the ongoing investigation.
Mathews said the impact occurred on the driver’s side of the Dodge Ram, near the bed or rear axle area of the flatbed truck.
It is the second crash involving a truck hitting a two-wheeled vehicle within two weeks.
On July 21, a pickup truck reportedly pulling a trailer allegedly hit a bicyclist near Highway 550 and County Road 302. The road cyclist was taken to Mercy Hospital in serious condition.
This is a developing story. Check back with www.durangoherald.com for updates.
shane@durangoherald.com
