Life Flight transports accident victim to Baptist Hospital Friday

Published 5:55 pm Monday, November 21, 2005

By By Adam Prestridge
A Frisco City man was seriously injured Friday afternoon when the motorcycle he was driving was struck by a vehicle near Interstate 65.
"The only thing I saw was after the motorcycle was hit, the driver went flying through the air," Mobile's Brian Smith, who witnessed the accident, said. "An elderly guy and I ran to get the lady out of the car because it was on fire. She was too panicked to unlock the door. I knocked on the back window and she finally was able to get it unlocked."
Life Flight airlifted the driver of the Suzuki GSX 1300R, who was identified by a family friend as Rodgerick Roberts, from a nearby dirt parking lot to Baptist Hospital in Pensacola.
"He was able to talk," Charlotte Davis, who grew up with Roberts, said. "That's a blessing opposed to death."
According to Davis, the accident was the second Roberts has been involved in on a motorcycle.
"His clothes smelled like gas," she said. "He's lucky to be alive."
The accident occurred around 2:10 p.m. in front of RJ's Exxon on Hwy. 21 north when a Chevy Malibu and Roberts' motorcycle collided. Upon impact, Roberts was thrown an estimated 150-200 feet and the motorcycle burst into flames. According to an official on the scene, the motorcycle's speedometer was stuck at 110 mph, but the Alabama State Troopers Office had not determined how fast Roberts was traveling as of press time.
"I was looking for him (Roberts) to try to help him," Smith said. "That's when I noticed he was on the other side of the parking lot, several feet from his bike."
Smith said the impact of the accident knocked Roberts out of his tennis shoes.
"I've seen some bad wrecks in Mobile, but nothing like this, right in front of me," Smith said. "You hate to see this kind of thing happen right here close to the holidays."
Several troopers with the Alabama State Troopers Office responded to the accident along with officers with the Poarch Police Department and Atmore Police Department. Members of the Poarch Volunteer Fire Department and Kelley's Ambulance Service also responded.
According to hospital officials, Roberts was being transported to the intensive care unit Friday night.

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