A motorcyclist, who witnesses said was racing with a friend along Chartiers Avenue in Sheraden last night, lost control of his bike on some gravel and plowed down three girls on the sidewalk, triggering a heated response from the girls' family members.

	Lake Fong, Post-Gazette Pittsburgh Police Officer John Stofesky investigates at the scene of yesterday's accident in Sheraden. Click photo for larger image.

All three girls were taken to Children's Hospital and were in serious condition, police said, and the motorcyclist, who several witnesses said was not wearing a helmet, was in critical condition at Allegheny General Hospital.

Two motorcycles were zipping down Chartiers Avenue, eastbound, between Greenway Drive and DuBois Street, at about 6:45 p.m. Witnesses estimated they were going 70 to 80 mph in a zone with a speed limit of 35.

The man driving a maroon Harley-Davidson hit some gravel in the 2600 block of Chartiers and his bike veered up onto the sidewalk, striking the three young pedestrians, who, westbound drivers said, were knocked into the air.

Keith Williams, of Wilkinsburg, said the girls appeared to be between 12 and 15 years old. They fell next to each other. One sustained a deep gash in her leg, another's kneecap was exposed to the bone.

The motorcyclist proceeded forward, slammed into a parked car and fell over outside Murphy's Family Dentistry. He was bleeding profusely from a head injury, police said.

One of the girls' fathers saw the incident and came running. He began yelling at the injured driver and the other motorcyclist, who had parked his blue Kawasaki KZ-13 and rushed to pick up his friend's Harley. Another upset father or relative joined him shortly afterward, police said.

Williams and several other witnesses held the relatives back, until emergency crews came and finally Officer John Stofesky of the South Side police station quelled the situation. Police conducted an interview and sobriety test on the non-injured driver, but said no arrests had been made.

Police diverted traffic away from the area for more than an hour.

The three injured girls remained splayed near a waist-high chain-link fence in front of 2605 Chartiers while paramedics tended to them.

Roslyn Minous, who lives at 2605 Chartiers with her two children, said she worries daily about the vehicles speeding along the street.

"We can't even cross the street sometimes. They need to really look at the speed limit," she said.