PASSADUMKEAG — Police say a nurse who was traveling along Route 2 in Passadumkeag Sunday afternoon probably saved a bicyclist’s life after his leg was nearly severed by a lawn mowing blade.

Ryan Fitch, a deputy with the Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office, said the victim – a male in his 50s from Orono – was riding his bicycle along the northbound side of the road when a truck that was towing a trailer with a John Deere tractor on it attempted to pass him.

Fitch said the driver of the truck did not realize that an 8-foot-long lawn mower attachment that had been secured in an upright position had come loose and was sticking out to the side of the road.

The notched blade hit the rider’s left leg. Fitch said the nurse pulled over and was able to stop the bleeding until an ambulance crew arrived.

“More likely than not, she saved his life,” Fitch said.

The victim, whose name is not being released, was transported to Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor with non-life-threatening injuries. His teenage son, who was riding in front of him, was not injured.

The driver of the truck, a man in his late 60s, was transporting the mower from his home in Warren to a camp he owns in Springfield. Fitch said he will not face any criminal charges.

“It was just a freak accident,” Fitch said.