VIDEO: Motorcyclist taken by air ambulance after Bluffton crash

A motorcyclist who was not wearing a helmet suffered serious injuries in a wreck with an SUV at 2:20 p.m. Tuesday on Buckwalter Parkway and was flown to Savannah for treatment, according to the Bluffton Police Department.

The motorcyclist was traveling north on Buckwalter Parkway when he struck the side of an SUV pulling out of the parking lot of Church of the Cross, a news release said.

He was tossed from his motorcycle and found on the ground by emergency responders, the release said.

Traffic on Buckwalter Parkway was shut down while a LifeStar helicopter landed at the nearby Publix shopping center and airlifted the man to Memorial University Medical Center in Savannah.

The SUV driver was not injured.

Emergency responders and firefighters from the Bluffton Township Fire District also were on the scene.

The crash victim's name would not be released Tuesday, police Sgt. Joe Babkiewicz said. Police continue to investigate the cause of the wreck.

Follow reporter Allison Stice at twitter.com/LCBlotter.