MANCHESTER – A Poland woman was seriously injured Sunday when she crashed her motorcycle on Western Avenue while delivering a toy for the United Bikers of Maine toy run.

Kathy Jesiolowski, 53, was taken by ambulance to Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston with what was believed to be a serious head injury, said Kennebec County Sheriff’s Deputy Scott Mills.

Additional Photos

Motorcyclists pull out of Augusta at the start of the annual toy run sponsored Sunday by the United Bikers of Maine. The annual ride, attended by thousands, wound up in Windsor where bikers donated toys for children. Andy Molloy/Kennebec Journal

Jesiolowski was wearing a helmet, Mills said. Her motorcycle, a 2012 Harley Davidson, sustained relatively minor damage.

Jesiolowski was injured just before noon as she and about 50 other motorcyclists, including her husband, were riding east on Western Avenue to join thousands of other toy run riders at the Augusta Civic Center.

Mills said they had entered a construction zone when a foot peg on a motorcycle in front of Jesiolowski hit an orange barrel and it landed in her path. “She was unable to avoid it,” he said.

A nursing supervisor said Jesiolowski’s condition was unavailable Sunday night.

Sunday’s was the 30th annual toy run. Many of the bikers, including Jesiolowski, had attached American flags to their motorcycles in honor of the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

As many as 20,000 riders were expected to ride to the Windsor Fair, where thousands of toys are being collected for distribution to children throughout the state at Christmastime.

Kennebec Journal Staff Writer Craig Crosby can be contacted at 621-5642 or at:

ccrosby@centralmaine.com

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