A Pasadena man, 44, is in critical condition after the motorcycle he was riding hit a curb, police said Wednesday morning.

Richard Phillip Pedra of the 1800 block of Chesapeake Road was taken to Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore with what appeared to be life-threatening injuries, according to a spokesman for the Anne Arundel County Police Department. The accident occurred at about 11 p.m. on Tuesday, Justin Mulcahy, the spokesman, said in a news release.

Pedra, who was not wearing a helmet, was alone on a 2001 Harley-Davidson. He was traveling south on Fort Smallwood Road when the motorcycle struck a curb at Greenland Beach Road. Pedra was thrown from the bike, Mulcahy said.

"Preliminarily," he said, "it appears that alcohol and speed may have been contributing factors in this crash."

nick.madigan@baltsun.com