A bicyclist suffered serious injuries Friday evening after colliding with a motor vehicle at the intersection of Seventh and Emery avenues in Lowell, prompting a medical helicopter flight to a Boston-area hospital. The man was initially taken to Lowell General Hospital’s Main Campus before being airlifted for further treatment. The driver of the vehicle stayed at the scene as police opened an investigation.
The crash was reported in an emergency radio broadcast shortly after 6:30 p.m. Friday, according to the Boston Herald. Responders at the scene reported injuries including a head laceration, and the man riding the bicycle was described as conscious and alert immediately after the collision. The Lowell Fire Department requested a MedFlight shortly after first responders arrived, leading to the decision to transport him by helicopter rather than ground ambulance.
Driver Stayed Put, Police Say
The operator of the motor vehicle involved in the crash remained at the scene, Lowell Police Deputy Superintendent Mark LeBlanc said, per the same account. The Lowell Police Department Traffic Unit is now investigating the crash, consistent with its role overseeing pedestrian and motor vehicle safety citywide. According to the Lowell Police Department, the Traffic Unit specifically handles crashes involving serious bodily injury or death.
As of Saturday, authorities had not released the identities of the bicyclist or the driver. No information has been made public about what led up to the collision, and no additional details on the man’s condition at the Boston-area hospital have been disclosed.
Second Airlift Case In Lowell In Weeks
Friday’s crash marks the second time in recent weeks that a Lowell bicyclist has been flown to a Boston-area hospital following a crash. On Sept. 10, a juvenile bicyclist suffered head trauma in a crash at School and Lawson streets in the city’s Lower Highlands neighborhood and was likewise transported by medical helicopter after first being treated locally, the Lowell Sun reported. In that earlier case, police said their preliminary investigation did not indicate that a motor vehicle was involved, a notable contrast with Friday’s collision, which authorities have directly attributed to a crash between a bicyclist and a vehicle.
Traffic safety has long been a point of concern in Lowell. A 2019 city planning document noted that Lowell had 15 intersections ranked among the top 200 crash-prone intersections statewide, though it is not clear whether Seventh and Emery avenues was among them. Statewide, bicyclist fatalities accounted for about 2% of motor vehicle crash deaths in Massachusetts between 2017 and 2021, fluctuating between four and 11 deaths annually and averaging roughly seven per year, according to state data.
No further updates on the bicyclist’s condition or the status of the investigation had been released as of Saturday. Anyone with information about Friday’s crash is encouraged to cooperate with the Lowell Police Department Traffic Unit as the inquiry continues.
