Josh Barto was among more than 200 people driving motorcycles during Riding for the Cure on Saturday afternoon when he saw some riders stop ahead of him.

“I knew there was no reason for them to be stopped,” he said. “Then I saw there were people on the road.”

After seven motorcycles were involved in a crash during the event’s route through Westmoreland County, organizers said their main concern remains with patients taken from the scene.

Six motorcyclists and passengers were taken from the scene by emergency crews for various injuries, including four by LifeFlight. The most severe patient was a passenger thrown from her bike and run over by another motorcycle. Her injuries included a pelvic fracture, cracked ribs, a punctured lung, and road rash, Barto said.

“We want everyone to know our thoughts and prayers are with everyone involved,” said Lynda Kerr, president of Riding for the Cure.

“There’s just no words, it’s heartbreaking,” said Heather Leasure, a participant in the ride and member of the organization. “We can’t eat or sleep.”

According to Barto, the crash was a chain reaction. When one bike fell on its side on White Cloud Road near Lynch Road in Allegheny Township, Westmoreland County around 1 p.m., others followed.

“It was the perfect storm where it happened,” the Herman resident said. “Coming around a curve on a downward slope. I can’t stress enough, it was just a bad spot.”

When he came upon the accident, Barto, a local volunteer firefighter, said he and five other firefighters began tending to patients until eight ambulances and township police arrived on scene.

“I found out a flight nurse was taking care of the most-critical patient,” he said. “Everyone came together to help the people on the ground. If they couldn’t help, they got out of the way.”

Kerr said she has been in contact with a few of the patients’ families, and all should recover. As of Monday afternoon, she said two still were in Pittsburgh hospitals receiving treatment.

“This is my biggest fear every year,” she said tearfully. “I’ve been in contact with the patients. My focus is on the injured.”

She said the sister of the most-critical patient reached out and asked for another T-shirt commemorating the ride.

“She said their mother had breast cancer,” Kerr said. “She said she knew her sister would want a shirt, since the one she was wearing was cut by the EMTs.”

Kerr said she was at the ride’s final stop, The Beer Garden in Petrolia, when reports came in about the crash.

Leasure was in a group ahead of the crash and said people alerted them to what happened.

“There were miscommunications going around about what happened,” Leasure said. “All we cared about was making sure everyone got home in one piece.”

“It kind of took the wind out of everyone’s sails,” Barto said. “At the last stop it wasn’t a celebration like it usually was.”

“It was very somber,” Leasure added. “You could feel the energy coming off of people.”

According to Barto, an announcement was made about possible road washout along the designated route before the ride.

“(They) told everyone to be careful and to drive slow,” he said. “People are trying to put the spin on it that it’s (the ride’s) road captain’s fault. It wasn’t. It was simply an accident.”

Since the incident, Kerr said she’s heard from many people offering their support.

“My phone is constantly going off,” she said. “Ultimately, we’re a huge family. The minister who did the blessing of the bikes said he’d be happy to go to the hospital and is praying for the families.”

“We’ve all been watching out for each other,” Leasure said.

Barto said he hopes the leaders of Riding for the Cure continue their mission to help local cancer patients.

“This ride does so much, they’re one of the best local charities around,” he said. “The main thing is the good that this does.”

Leasure said one member of their board, a patient with terminal cancer, hopes the ride continues in future years.

“She said she’s alive because of Riding for the Cure,” Leasure said. “If the charity suffers, the cancer patients suffer. At the end of the day, this money is for cancer patients.”

Kerr said following the crash, the organization questioned whether it would continue to hold the ride.

“In 10 years this hasn’t happened. We’ve questioned whether or not we’re going to continue,” she said. “But these (cancer patients) need help. That’s why we do this.”

Leasure said there are no words for how heartbroken they feel after the crash.

“We’re still feeling it. It’s hard to describe our emotions right now. It’s emotionally taken its toll,” she said. “You’ll be fine and then it just hits you all at once again.”

Out of respect for patients, Kerr said a Riding for the Cure event scheduled for Wednesday was canceled. She said the next scheduled event is Music for the Cure on August 13.

Kerr added there has been discussion about offering support for the patients through a future fundraiser.

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