Driver charged after motorcycle rider seriously injured in crash on Route 114

One person is injured and another arrested after a crash involving a motorcycle in Portsmouth.

According to Deputy Chief of Police Michael Morse, at just after 4:15 p.m., Portsmouth Police responded to a serious motorcycle crash at the intersection of West Main Road (Route 114) and Stringham Road. 

The motorcycle operator sustained serious injuries after being struck by a motor vehicle operated by 38-year-old Lesslie McDowell of Johnston. The motorcycle was turning left onto West Main Road to begin heading northbound from Stringham Road when it was struck by McDowell’s vehicle, which was traveling southbound on West Main Road.

McDowell was arrested on suspicion of DUI. 

The motorcycle operator was transported by the Portsmouth Fire Department to Rhode Island Hospital.

The Portsmouth Police Department’s Detective Division and Accident Reconstruction Team are on scene.

The case remains under investigation at this time.