Motorcyclist In ICU After 9th Street Bridge Crash In Lockport: Cops

LOCKPORT, IL — A man was seriously injured in a crash between a motorcycle and a van on the Ninth Street bridge on Wednesday morning, according to Lockport Police. As of 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, the bridge remains closed due to a crash investigation.

When officers arrived at the scene, the driver of the motorcycle, a 43-year-old man, was found in the road unconscious, and without a pulse, police said. The driver remains hospitalized in intensive care, police said.

Police said they received a call at 6:06 a.m. Wednesday about a crash between a motorcycle and a van at Ninth and Canal streets. Witnesses told police that the van had fled south on Canal Street.

The cause of the crash appears to be that the van was traveling south on Canal Street and pulled into the path of the motorcycle, which was traveling westbound on Ninth, police said. Traffic on Ninth has the right of way at this intersection, according to police.

Officers found and stopped the van at State and 18th streets, and the driver, identified as James Lawler, 61, has been charged with failure to yield at an intersection and leaving the scene of an accident resulting in personal injury.

Lawler will appear at the Will County courthouse on Oct. 14.

Police said they are continuing to investigate the incident, but there are no indications that drugs or alcohol played a role in the crash.