Motorcyclist airlifted following crash

The motorcyclist was thrown from his bike into the bed of the truck. He suffered broken bones and internal injuries, and was airlifted to John Muir Medical Center in Walnut Creek in critical condition. The driver of the pick-up complained of back pain following the incident, officials said.

“Normally, we like to land [the helicopter] as close to the scene as possible, but that section of Byron Highway is only two lanes,” Auzenne said. “It’s narrow. It has power lines running down both sides of the road. In addition, all the fields in the area are in the harvest time, or are being plowed, so the dust would be too great.”

Officials decided to land the medical helicopter at the intersection of Byron Highway and Brentwood Boulevard. The intersection remained closed for about 20 minutes.