PIERCETON – A South Whitley man was critically hurt early today after hitting a deer head-on on his mo-ped.
Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Department deputies and medics were called just before 6 a.m. to CR 900E, just north of U.S. 30, after a passerby found a man sprawled out on the roadway.
Emergency personnel arrived to find 43-year-old Dennis M. Spurling, South Whitley, suffering from a severe head injury. He was airlifted to Fort Wayne’s Lutheran Hospital in critical condition.
Spurling was not wearing a helmet.
Scene investigators believe Spurling was southbound on CR 900E on his red mo-ped and possibly struck a crossing deer. Police did not find a deer, but found deer hair and other like evidence near the crash, police said.
Spurling was unconscious at the scene, and detectives were unclear how long he had been lying in the roadway.
Investigators said alcohol may have played a role in the crash, though results from a blood draw from Spurling are pending.
