AUSTIN, Texas – A motorcyclist is in critical condition after he was thrown off his bike and onto the service road at Research Boulevard on Tuesday afternoon.

Authorities shut down portions of the 8400 block of Research Boulevard southbound after the motorcyclist, a man in his 50s, fell nearly 25 feet from the upper deck around 2:15 p.m.

The man was taken to Dell Seton Medical Center with life threatening injuries, according to Austin-Travis County EMS.

Austin police are investigating what caused the man to fall and have closed southbound US 183 near Payton Gin Road.