A 19-year-old Massachusetts woman struck a Barrington motorcyclist, dragged him for a short distance and then left him behind Thursday, Aug. 20, state police said.

The driver of the motorcycle, Robert Heywood, 50, of Barrington, was treated for injuries at Elliot Hospital in Manchester and released that night.

Drivers began reporting around 6:30 p.m. that a motorcyclist had been hit on the ramp at Route 101 eastbound and the F.E. Everett Turnpike southbound, police said. The Bedford Fire Department arrived on scene to find Heywood with a leg injury – and to find that the car that struck him had left the scene, police said.

Heywood said the driver who hit him, whom police identified as Brittany Lacourse, 19, of Lowell, was on her cell phone and seemed to be lost.

“She’s gabbing on her phone. She doesn’t know where she’s going or what she’s doing,” he said.

Police had not announced any charges against Lacourse as of Aug. 22. Police said Lacourse’s mother called to report the incident.

Lacourse could not be reached for comment.

From his home in Barrington, Heywood said he was “tired and pretty sore.” He said his knee is broken and he has a few minor lacerations, including on the side of his head and his ear. He was not wearing a helmet.

Police said Lacourse’s Nissan crossed solid white lines to sideswipe Heywood.

Heywood said he was coming from up the ramp from South River Road onto Route 101 east into congested traffic, while the other driver was trying to get onto the F.E. Everett Turnpike going south. A car came between him and his friend he said, and then slowed down. Not wanting to hit the car from behind, and with a truck to his left, Heywood went to his right, thinking he’d get into the breakdown lane once he made it off the ramp.

“This lady realized that’s my turn that I want, and she just cut right in front,” he said. Heywood said the driver cut across two lanes of traffic while talking on her phone before she hit him. His head hit the top of her car, he said.

“My handlebar went through the side window, and she (dragged) me for a little ways. We were actually going sideways down the on-ramp,” he said.

They were going about 5 mph while he was being dragged, Heywood said. Then his bike came free from the car and fell over, and she took off at about 40 mph, he said.

“All I could hear was my buddy screaming,” he said. “At first all I could hear was him screaming stop, ‘You’re dragging him! You’re dragging him ... Then all of a sudden I was free and I was in and out of consciousness.” He said Lacourse “kind of stopped for a second” and looked back before leaving.

“My buddy was looking at her and said, ‘Don’t you go anywhere, don’t go anywhere!’ And she just took off,” Heywood said.

Heywood said he wished the state would make it illegal to use hand-held cell phones while driving.

“You don’t drive with your cell phone, where you don’t know where you’re at, and cut somebody off like that,” he said.

And if a person is lost, he or she should pull over, write down directions, and then get back on the road, he said.

Heywood said he is self-employed and works in construction.

“I can’t bend my leg. I can hardly move it. I’m going to be out of work for a while, and that’s a bummer in this economy,” he said.

Heywood praised the emergency responders and staff at Elliot Hospital who treated him.

“I’m standing here. I’m on crutches, but I can laugh. I can talk. I can think,” he said. “A few body wounds. It’ll be a little bit of time, but I think I’ll be all right. It could have been a lot worse.”