A motorcyclist is in hospital tonight after he drove into a garage door in Barrie. 

Police say he was fleeing a robbery scene earlier today when he crashed into an Esther Drive home. And a witness who tried to help the man was shocked when he found the man was carrying a gun.

Barrie police say the man stole both the motorcycle and shotgun from a south-end home but didn't manage to get far.

“We could hear him coming and he was going very quickly,” says Rynn Critchley, who watched in horror as the motorcycle rider lost control.

“He went on the grass and right up towards the house,” Critchley says. “I told my daughter to call 911 because he was going to hit the house and he did, right into the garage.”

The force of the impact crushed the garage door and cracked the wall of the garage. Manuel Quelha and his son Mike were driving on Esther Drive just seconds after the crash and rushed over to help.

The man was stuck between the garage wall and motorcycle. His legs were mangled and he was trying to get up. That’s when they noticed a firearm.

“As I moved the bike his legs were kicking and then a gun fell on the ground so I kicked it away,” Mike says.

Police say the man is believed to be in his 20s, and he allegedly stole the motorcycle and shotgun from a home on Country Lane Drive and only managed to flee around the corner when he lost control and crashed. At this point it’s not clear if the break-in was targeted.

“The investigation is ongoing and all we can say for certain is that motorcycle and shotgun were from that residence on Country Lane,” says Barrie Const. Jamie Westcott.

The man was taken to RVH with serious injuries and then airlifted to Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto.  Investigators spent all afternoon canvassing the neighbourhood and searching both homes. Barrie police say no one was at the Country Lane home when the suspect broke in. They say the shotgun was properly stored and unloaded.

The suspect remains in hospital tonight and is expected to recover. Police are expected to lay charges.