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SPRINGVILLE — A motorcyclist is facing criminal charges after police say he crashed into a truck and trailer, causing life-threatening injuries to his passenger.
Spencer Rich Brockbank, 18, was charged Tuesday in 4th District Court with negligently operating a vehicle resulting in injury, a third-degree felony; reckless driving, a class B misdemeanor; operating a vehicle without insurance, a class C misdemeanor; and speeding, an infraction.
On April 11, Brockbank was riding a motorcycle with a passenger on the back. Brockbank "sped down the road and collided with a truck and trailer that was already over halfway in the road turning. Video footage shows the motorcycle speed around a white car that is in front of it and then continue to speed down the road until it hit the gooseneck part of the trailer," according to charging documents.
Brockbank was wearing a helmet but his passenger was not. The boy, whose name and age have not been released, was taken to a local hospital where police learned "he had a severe brain injury and doctors did not think he would make it through the week," the charges state. "The victim was in the hospital for over two months with a traumatic brain injury. Officers were informed that it will take years of rehab for the victim to fully recover."
When questioned, Brockbank allegedly told detectives he thought he was going 50 mph in a 30 mph zone. Police estimated his speed at 43 mph. He also allegedly to using marijuana and taking psychedelic mushrooms within 24 hours of the crash, the charges state.
