A firefighter was first on the scene of a motorcycle crash on Route 68 late Friday, July 14, all because he had been driving behind it on his way to another call.

Aron Wulff, assistant chief of Oneida Valley Volunteer Fire Department, was able to help the injured motorcyclist and report the incident to other emergency responders within seconds of the crash occurring.

Wulff said his department had been dispatched as mutual aid for a structure fire in Center Township at 11:46 p.m. Friday.

Oneida Valley’s response was canceled shortly after the initial call, he said, as the occupants were out of the structure and the fire had been extinguished before firefighters from Unionville Volunteer Fire Company arrived.

Wulff said he was responding to the fire before the call was canceled, driving on Route 68 toward Butler behind a dark-colored Yamaha motorcycle.

The motorcycle crested a hill and was negotiating a bend in the 200 block of Route 68, near University Korner gas station.

The motorcyclist failed to make the bend, and the vehicle slid and fell on its side, Wulff said.

“I could see (the motorcyclist) going up the hill, then a pickup truck pulled out of University Korner to get me to slow down ... (that driver) saw it happen,” he said.

The pickup driver joined Wulff in helping the motorcyclist, who was in his 50s.

“We took a look at his ankle, and all his bones looked like they were inside his body, but it was obviously broken,” Wulff said. “I just had him lie still until the EMTs got there.”

The motorcyclist had not been wearing a helmet at the time of the crash, but he was alert, according to Wulff.

“He was talking to me, smoking cigarettes,” Wulff added.

Crews shut down one lane of Route 68 while East Butler EMS transported the motorcyclist to Butler Memorial Hospital. Wulff said they cleared the scene 12:45 a.m. Saturday, July 15.