Two motorcyclists injured in weekend crash near Wellton

Two motorcyclists were severely injured Saturday afternoon when they collided with each other near milepost 28 on Interstate 8.

According to Sgt. David Rodriguez, of the Wellton Police Department, the riders were with a group of several other motorcyclists who were looking for a place to turn around so they could return to Yuma.

Rodriguez said the accident happened at about 4:42 p.m. when the lead motorcyclist spotted a place where he thought the group could turn around and began braking and slowing down.

As he did, Rodriguez said the rider of the motorcycle who was behind the lead rider collided with his motorcycle, causing both bikes to crash.

The male rider of the lead motorcycle was transported to Yuma Regional Medical Center by Tri-Valley ambulance, while the female rider of the second motorcycle was airlifted from the scene by CareFlight and flown to a Phoenix area hospital.

“There were broken bones on both riders,” Rodriguez said. “The female rider was flown from the scene because she kept going in and out of consciousness.

The names and ages of the riders were not available.

The eastbound lanes of Interstate 8 were closed for about 40 minutes while first responded tended to the victims and the scene was cleared.