A man was killed in a single-vehicle motorcycle crash in Sapulpa on Tuesday morning and laid where he crashed for hours before being found, according to Sapulpa Police.
The man, who has now been identified as 78-year-old Jerry Burleson of Tulsa, was riding his Harley Trike after visiting a bank in Sand Springs, according to a conversation Sapulpa police said they had with Burleson’s daughter. “He was probably just out, taking a longer ride home so he could enjoy the weather on his motorcycle,” Captain Troy Foreman said.
The crash happened near W. 100th Street and New Sapulpa Road, at about 10:30am, according to Foreman. Burleson was traveling northbound on New Sapulpa Road (State Hwy 66) on Tuesday morning, when he ran his motorcycle off the road and into a guardrail, landing in the ditch nearby.
“We know, because we have video, that a few cars were near the accident when it happened,” Foreman told Sapulpa Times in a phone conversation. “For whatever reason, nobody stopped or called in (the crash).”
Police say the man likely died instantly or soon after he crashed, but he wasn’t found until about 12:30pm, when someone at a nearby business saw debris in the ditch and went to investigate.
Police said the investigation is still ongoing, but they believe the man, who is from Tulsa, experienced a medical episode, leading to the crash.