Motorcyclists injured in I-5 pile up ID'd

The crash site on Interstate 5 south of Wilsonville where a motorcycle pile up led to multiple injuries. LifeFlight lifted two of the motorcyclists out with critical injuries. Photo courtesy Oregon State Police.

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Story Published: Oct 3, 2009 at 3:32 PM PDT

By KATU.com Staff and News Wires

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WILSONVILLE, Ore. - A leisurely Friday spin down Interstate 5 Friday turned into a LifeFlight ride with critical injuries for two motorcyclists in the Brothers Speed Motorcycle Club.

The motorcyclists have been identified as 48-year-old Herbert Sinclair from Heyburn, Idaho, and 44-year-old David Bowyer from Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. They were transported by LifeFlight to Oregon Health Sciences University and Legacy Emanuel Hospital, respectively.

Oregon State Police troopers are continuing the investigation into Friday afternoon's multi-vehicle traffic crash south of Wilsonville on Interstate 5. Ten motorcyclists traveling together as part of the Brothers Speed Motorcycle Club was injured, two critically.

At 2:45 p.m. Friday, a pack of 26 motorcycles from the Brothers Speed Motorcycle Club were traveling northbound in the left-inside lane near milepost 282 in a formation of two columns when traffic ahead began to come to a stop. The first two motorcycles maneuvered to avoid a collision with a 2005 Toyota 4Runner, police said.

"The rest of the motorcycles could not react in time and crashed into the sport utility vehicle and into each other," according to an Oregon State Police press release. A second vehicle, a 2004 Nissan Pathfinder sport utility vehicle in the center lane, also was struck by one of the motorcycles reportedly attempting to avoid the collisions.

Medical responders arrived and subsequently transported eight motorcyclists by ground ambulance while Sinclair and Bowyer were transported out by LifeFlight, a helicopter transport agency serving the Northwest. Both men remain in critical condition.

Names of three of the other eight individuals injured in the crash are identified are confirmed as 60-year-old Juan Ramon Mata, 40-year-old Chistian Gankema, and 38-year-old Gary Pawson. Each was from Idaho.

The names of the two drivers are not available for release.

Interstate 5 northbound lanes were closed for about two hours before one lane was opened. All lanes of Interstate 5 were open by 6 p.m.

Oregon State Police troopers were assisted at the scene by Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue, Clackamas County Sheriff's Office, the Oregon Department of Transportation, Aurora Fire Department, Canby Fire Department, Wilsonville Police Department and Marion County Sheriff's Office.

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