MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – A Florida Highway Patrol trooper is recovering after crashing his motorcycle on Florida's Turnpike.
It happened Friday morning on the northbound off-ramp to Southwest 120th Street.
The motorcycle appeared to have hit the retaining wall and ended up on its side on the pavement.
Investigators believe the trooper, Enrique Gascon, a 27-year veteran of the agency, may have been trying to catch up with another vehicle when he lost control of his motorcycle.
"I was exiting and I saw the FHP officer on the ground," said Josue Echevarria, who drove up just after the crash occurred.
He said the trooper was conscious but had facial injuries, a broken leg and he seemed to be out it.
"I'm guessing he had a concussion or something because he was like, 'Where am I?' He didn't know what was going on," said Echevarria. "I told him, 'You went down. Help is on its way. Just try to keep calm.'"
Gascon was flown to Kendall Regional Medical Center.
According to a spokesman for the FHP, despite his injuries, Gascon is going to be OK.
The crash shut down the southbound Turnpike off-ramp to Southwest 120th Street for several hours as investigators interviewed witnesses and collected the clues they need to figure out how the crash occurred.
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