SKOWHEGAN — A local man known throughout downtown Skowhegan for walking with his three-wheel bike searching for cans and bottles to redeem for cash was injured Friday afternoon when he fell and hit his head on the pavement on Silver Street.

Neil Woodard, 70, apparently tripped on broken pavement about 1 p.m. Thursday and went down hard, a resident of nearby Springhouse Gardens apartment house said at the scene.

Neil Woodard, 70, of Skowhegan, known for collecting cans and bottles in town, was taken to a hospital Friday with a head wound after falling on Spring Street. File photo

Woodard was attended to by passers-by until an ambulance from Redington-Fairview General Hospital arrived. Woodard, known as the “bottle man,” was bleeding from the head.

Emergency medical personnel put Woodard in a neck brace and onto a rolling gurney and into the EMS ambulance for a trip to the hospital. Woodard appeared to be conscious, responding to questions from emergency medical personnel.

The bike, which has no seat, chain or pedals, was standing next to him. He had not been riding the bike.

For many years, Woodard has used the bike for collecting bottles and cans along Skowhegan roads. He finds them in ditches, on curbs and in parking lots, according to a story about him published in March. He lives in an apartment on Beauford Street.

Last year, toward the end of winter, Woodard said he was on Beauford Street and tripped over a chunk of ice and fell and broke his right hip, but he recovered.

Doug Harlow — 612-2367

dharlow@centralmaine.com

Twitter:@Doug_Harlow

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