Motorcyclist crashes through storefront downtown

A motorcyclist took an unintended detour today and crashed through a storefront in downtown Spokane. The man, who has not been identified, was transported to a hospital with what witnesses described as non-life-threatening injuries after crashing into the Pottery Barn at 717 W. Main Ave. about 2:45 p.m. Another motorcyclist, Scott Decarlo, was parked across the street and witnessed the accident. He said the man pulled out of a parking spot across the street from Pottery Barn and accelerated smoothly and slowly toward the far lane. But then, he said, it appeared the motorcycle’s throttle got stuck open, causing the man to lose control. “That’s the way it sounded, that’s the way it looked,” he said. “The throttle was wide open. He couldn’t stop it.” The motorcycle went up and over the curb, then hit a ledge below the window, tossing the man off the bike and into the store. “He broke the window, not the bike,” Decarlo said. The man, who was flung several feet into the store, was coherent but had cuts on his face and a large gash on his knee, he said. “I’m just glad nobody was walking by at that time,” he said. “It all happened so fast.”