OXFORD – A motorcyclist was badly injured and his wife was also hurt Saturday afternoon when they lost control of their bike, veered off East Oxford Road and crashed.

George Harwood, 60, of Mechanic Falls, was driving the bike while his wife, 52-year-old Carol Harwood was riding on the back. The pair were traveling with a small group of motorcyclists.

Police say Harwood lost control going around a sharp corner on top of a hill. Both Harwood and his wife were thrown from the bike. They weren’t wearing helmets.

Harwood received serious injuries to his head and chest.

“The first assessment appeared life-threatening,” Oxford Officer Shane Thomas said.

Harwood was taken by LifeFlight to Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston, where he was listed in critical condition Saturday night.

His wife was also injured, but was walking around and tending to her husband when police arrived, Thomas said. She was treated at CMMC and released.

Another motorcyclist, 50-year-old Eileen Hotham, no address given, was riding behind Harwood and lost control of her bike in an attempt to avoid his crash. She received only minor cuts and was not taken to the hospital.

Police do not believe speed or alcohol was a factor in the crash.

“This is a textbook case about why helmets are important,” Thomas said.

Oxford police believe the riders were coming from the Skunk Run in New Hampshire, a benefit bike ride named after Telstar Regional High School 1997 graduate Sandon A. “Skunk” Morgan, who was killed in a motorcycle crash in 2003.