One member of a group of motorcyclists “speeding and riding erratically,” according to East Hampton Village police, was left injured Sunday afternoon after he hit the rear of a car stopped on Main Street.
Gabriel Espinoza-Toro, 25, of Bayside, was taken by village ambulance to Stony Brook Southampton Hospital for treatment. A witness told police as they were photographing the scene that “two to four motorcycles were speeding around trying to get past everyone. Then I saw a guy in the air. They were going very fast.”
Police reported that an officer had begun following the group on Woods Lane and onto Main Street. As they passed David’s Lane the officer attempted to pull them over, later stating that they had crossed center line markings, were driving too fast, followed other vehicles too closely and passed them illegally, and made unsafe lane changes. None of the riders responded to the officer’s emergency lights or siren.
The accident happened at the intersection of Main Street and Newtown Lane. Mr. Espinoza-Toro’s Suzuki motorcycle was towed away from the scene. Police did not report the extent of his injuries. He was issued a total of nine traffic citations.
Another motorcycle crash, this time in Sag Harbor, sent a man to the same hospital last Thursday night.
Sag Village police did not release the name of the injured rider, but said he told them at the scene that the bike’s throttle had been “sticky,” causing him to lose control. He fell onto his right side and fractured his leg. According to reports, the fracture was “visible.”
Police said that upon his release from the hospital he would be charged with driving without a motorcycle license or insurance.
On Friday, a second accident in Sag Harbor temporarily shut down a portion of Madison Street. Police said a motorist, who was not identified, had suffered a medical emergency, and the car veered into a bicyclist, also not named.
When emergency services arrived on the scene, the bicyclist was on the ground and bleeding from the face, before being taken to the hospital by ambulance.