Clayton man seriously injured in motorcycle crash

Tuesday, August 17, 2021

ROACHDALE — A Clayton man was airlifted to an Indianapolis hospital following a motorcycle crash in rural Putnam County last week.

Raymond L. Martin, 31, was traveling on County Road 1100 North near the intersection of County Road 250 East when he crashed his 2007 Harley-Davidson FXD Series for an unknown reason.

Deputy Robert Soilleux arrived at the scene at 11:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 11 to find the damaged motorcycle on its side in the middle of the road. Martin was northeast of the motorcycle, covered in dirt, at the edge of a soybean field.

Martin, who had not been wearing a helmet, was unconscious when Soilleux arrived and never regained consciousness at the scene.

Multiple agencies responded to the call, attempting to render aid to Martin, including the Roachdale Fire Department, PMH Ambulance Service and Putnam County EMS.

After being treated at the scene, he was airlifted to St. Vincent trauma center in Indianapolis via StatFlight helicopter.

Based on tire marks and a trail of debris, Soilleux believed the motorcycle to have been westbound. The motorcycle appears to have run off the north side of the road, hitting a traffic sign warning of a cement barrier before colliding with the barrier itself.

Then there was an absence of marks for about 45 feet, where there were two large divots in the middle of the ditch, and one more divot farther along and scrape marks that end where the motorcycle came to rest.

About 10 feet north was a flattened-out spot in the grass and a pair of clear safety glasses. The grass looked as if someone had rolled and skidded through it to the spot where Martin was found.

Present on the scene was Robert Sink, who said he did not witness the crash but heard it from his house east of the crash site.

Sink told Soilleux that Martin had been at his house, where he had a couple of beers and the two were playing chess. He said Martin had just left his house and he was outside closing the garage door when he heard the crash. He looked west to see a white and red light pointing up and down in the air, as if the motorcycle was flipping.

At that point, Sink and his wife Brittnay went to the crash site.

Sink said Martin had recently modified his motorcycle by installing a different shifter and new tires. He also speculated that Martin may have crashed because he was blind in his right eye.

The motorcycle was removed from the scene by Adams Towing.

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