Motorcyclist ejected after crash on Rt. 515

Vernon — Vernon Police report that at 12:15 p.m. on Saturday, June 14, they were called to the intersection of Main Street and Route 515 where a motorcyclist had been injured. While participating in a March of Dimes charity event, a motorcycle rally with approximately 150 other motorcyclists, Felix L. Claudio, lost control of his 2003 Harley Davidson Police Motorcycle while he was heading north. Claudio, 39, of West Orange, is an officer with the Essex County Sheriff’s Department. His bike stuck the center median and a street sign on the median and then crossed into the southbound lane of Route 515, where he struck the front driver side door of a 2003 Subaru Forester. Claudio was ejected from his motorcycle, according to the police report. The Subaru was driven by Terry A. Taylor of Highland Lakes. She was released from the scene and later reported that she was experiencing shoulder pain. Claudio was transported to a helicopter landing zone that had been set up by the Vernon Township Fire Department on Vernon Crossing Road. He was met by a Northstar Medivac helicopter that had been just minutes before in Sparta, where it was giving a demonstration to Boy Scouts at Mohawk Avenue School. Claudio was flown to Morristown Hospital for reported neck and back pains. Vernon Police were assisted at the scene and landing zone by the Vernon Township Ambulance Squad. The accident is under investigation by the Vernon Police Patrol division.