Motorcyclist hospitalized after crash

A 30-year-old motorcyclist was hospitalized Friday night with a possible head injury after a crash that closed Bigelow Gulch Road about 9 p.m.

Sheriff’s Deputy Jesse Depriest said that based on witnesses, Spokane resident Richard L. Nelson was westbound at high speed in a 45-mph zone when his Harley-Davidson motorcycle sideswiped a Ford Expedition.

The Harley slid the length of the Expedition and hit the SUV’s bumper, sending the motorcycle sliding for more than 100 feet, Depriest reported. The motorcycle slammed into an embankment with Nelson still aboard.

The lone occupant of the Expedition wasn’t injured. Depriest said Nelson had no motorcycle endorsement, and paramedics thought he might have been drinking. No citation was issued immediately.

One of the issues that remained under investigation was who owned the motorcycle.