DUDLEY

— The Police Chief of Sturbridge, who was seriously injured in a

Sept. 20 motorcycle crash

, will be charged with speeding and having an expired inspection sticker following an investigation into the crash, Dudley Police Chief Steven Wojnor said.

According to the Worcester Telegram and Gazette, Thomas J. Ford, was riding with his second-in-command of the Sturbridge Police Department, Lt. Earl J. Dessert, in Dudley when he crashed his 2000 Harley Davidson motorcycle. He was taken to the UMass Memoral Medical Center with serious injuries.

Witnesses told investigators that the two were riding on West Main Street in Dudley when Ford lost control of his bike and crashed. A report of the incident by the Central Massachusetts Law Enforcement Council Crash Reconstruction Team alleges that Ford was traveling nearly 20 miles an hour faster than the posted speed limit of 35 mph at the time of the crash. The report states that a 23-foot skid mark from the rear wheel of Ford's bike preceded 146 feet of scratch marks on the pavement, where the dumped motorcycle continued to slide before it came to rest.

Ford told investigators that he had no recollection of the crash, while Dessert said he was in the front position of the two and did not see Ford's bike go down.