WEST PARIS – An Oxford motorcyclist was injured Thursday night when he dumped his bike on Route 26 to avoid hitting a truck.

Rodney Johnson, 58, of Sam Rowe Hill Road was taken to Stephens Memorial Hospital in Norway with a leg injury, Oxford County Deputy Sheriff Josh Wyman said.

A nursing supervisor said he was still being evaluated at 9:25 p.m.

Johnson was riding south at 7:30 p.m. when he tried to pass a truck that slowed to make a left turn off Route 26, the deputy said. Realizing a collision was imminent, Johnson laid the motorcycle down in front of the Enchanted Florist, he said.

The driver of the truck, 32-year-old Greg Durgin of 128 Bethel Road, West Paris, was not hurt and his truck was not hit, Wyman said.

The 1999 Yamaha Roadster had a damaged blinker.

“His leg saved the motorcycle from getting damaged,” the deputy said, explaining the bike landed on Johnson’s leg. He was wearing a helmet.

Tri-Town Rescue and PACE ambulance were at the scene.