Rider’s Helmet Flys Off in Crash

A motorcycle rider wakes up cold in a ditch after a crash on Friday night.

The Saline County Sheriff’s office says 25-year-old Paul Bennett of Enterprise was northbound on New 81-Highway riding his 2006 Suzuki when he rolled down the off ramp and failed to stop at K-143 Highway.

He was thrown off the bike as it entered the ditch around 11pm – and woke up two hours later cold and disoriented.

Bennett called his mother who took him to Stat Care in Salina and then the hospital for evaluation.

Bennett told deputies he had been drinking and was on his way home when the accident occurred.

Sheriff Glen Kochanowki tells KSAL News that Bennett was wearing a helmet – which was thrown off on impact. The motorcycle is a total loss.

Salina Regional Health Center staff treated him for road rash and kept him at the hospital for observation after they found air around his lung.

Bennett was cited for running a stop sign.