Mass. motorcyclist seriously injured after crashing into bear

A Massachusetts motorcyclist was seriously injured Saturday after crashing into a bear in Petersham, authorities said. 

The 71-year-old man from Orange was thrown from his motorcycle after striking the bear shortly after 10 a.m. on Route 122 near the New Salem town line, according to Petersham police. 

First responders from Petersham and nearby Athol treated the man at the scene before UMass Memorial LifeFlight rushed him to a UMass Memorial Health trauma center, Petersham officials said. 

Police did not offer further information on the status of the motorcyclist or the bear he struck, which they described as an adult weighing about 160 pounds. A tow company out of Athol removed the damaged motorcycle from the scene. 

The black bear population in Massachusetts has been increasing in numbers and distribution since the 1970s, according to the state’s Division of Fisheries and Wildlife. Black bears typically live and breed around Worcester County, northern Middlesex County, and out west into the Berkshires, and MassWildlife reports that bird feeders and unsecured trash often draws the bears to residential neighborhoods.

Abby Patkin is a general assignment news reporter whose work touches on public transit, crime, health, and everything in between. She has been covering the Lindsay Clancy murder case since January 2023.