Tennessee man in critical condition following I-65 collision

Columbus, Indiana – A motorcycle struck a Tennessee man who was trying to help another biker who had been hurt in an earlier collision on I-65 in southern Bartholomew County, leaving him with critical injuries.

Investigators think that a bicycle may have fallen from a car that was driving northbound on I-65 close to milepost 59. When it was struck by at least two southbound passenger cars, the bicycle was laying in the far left lane of I-65 Southbound. Due to damage sustained from hitting the bicycle, both vehicles—one of which was being driven by Jonathan Brown, age 27, of Lebanon, Tennessee—pulled to the shoulder of I-65.

Then a bunch of motorcyclists riding in a convoy came up to the bicycle that was still in the road. Leslie D. Spillman, 62, of Lexington, Kentucky, one of the riders, collided with the bicycle and crashed his 2008 Kawasaki motorcycle, suffering just minor wounds. Brown then got out of his car and went to help Spillman.

Prior to Spillman’s collision, Darrell Brooks, a 39-year-old from Lexington, Kentucky, was riding a 2004 Honda motorcycle that had passed the bicycle. In order to attend to Spillman’s crash, Brooks turned around and started moving northbound on the southbound shoulder.

Brown was then hit by Brooks’ motorcycle as he was making his way towards Spillman. Brown suffered critical injuries as a result of the crash. He was transported by medical chopper to a hospital in Louisville, Kentucky to receive treatment for injuries that aren’t thought to be life-threatening.

At this moment, the inquiry is still underway. It is not thought that either alcohol or drugs contributed to the crash.