Several emergency crews with different agencies in Tennessee and Georgia sought to save a man critically injured in a motorcycle/van crash at the south end of Missionary Ridge on Sunday afternoon.
The injured man, Lewis Leach, had been set to be married on Saturday to Elaine Wolfe.
He was in neuro-intensive care at Erlanger Medical Center.
The crews were dispatched to the accident on South Crest Road near Shadow Lawn Drive, very close to the state line at Rossville.
Firefighters and paramedics with Hutcheson EMS were the first to arrive on the scene. Although it was quickly determined that the crash was in Tennessee, paramedics with Hutcheson EMS immediately made their way to the motorcyclist who had been thrown close to 40 feet off the side of the ridge. The Hutcheson EMS paramedics started treating the man's critical injuries.
Paramedics with Hamilton County EMS and firefighters with the city of Chattanooga Fire Department arrived on the scene a short time later. Frank Pate, Assistant Chief with the Hamilton County Rescue Squad was also in the area when the call went out. Assistant Chief Pate quickly offered assistance to the rescue operation.
Crews worked together to bring the man back up the side of the ridge and load him into an ambulance. His condition was believed to be extremely critical.
He was rushed to Erlanger Medical Center by Hamilton County EMS.
The crash actually occurred in the 700 block of South Crest Road. Witnesses at the scene said the motorcycle collided with a van in a sharp curve. When the motorcycle hit the van, the motorcyclist was said to have flown off the bike and struck the windshield of the van. He was then thrown over the van and down the side of the ridge.
When the motorcycle struck the van, the van was thrown onto its side. Luckily, the driver of the van climbed out by himself. He was said to be uninjured.
City of Chattanooga Police are investigating the cause of the crash.
- Photo2 by Bill Carson, www.carsonphotos.net