Methuen Police photograph.
Police in Methuen are investigating the cause of a crash Wednesday afternoon in which a motorcyclist escaped injury from an oncoming cement truck.
According to Methuen police, officers responded at about 3:06 p.m., Wednesday, to a report of flames coming from a vehicle near the intersection of Howe and Pond streets. Firefighters were also called to the scene when first responders discovered a motorcycle on fire from underneath a cement truck. A police spokesperson said investigators learned the motorcycle was stopped in the left lane on Pond Street and waiting to turn left when the cement truck, traveling northbound on Howe Street, turned onto Pond Street.
“The driver of the cement truck entered into the lane the motorcycle was in. The operator of the motorcycle was able to jump off the bike before the cement truck entered the lane. The truck then drove over the motorcycle and dragged it a short distance onto Pond St. The driver of the cement truck was able to get out of the truck before the motorcycle caught fire,” the spokesperson said.
A video posted online showed firefighters quickly extinguished the flames under the truck. No one was injured in the crash. Both vehicles were towed from the scene. The operators were not identified by police, but public comments online indicate a female motorcyclist was “the luckiest woman on earth.”