So often after a collision between a motorcycle and another vehicle, the driver of that vehicle will tell authorities that he or she didn’t see the motorcycle. Despite public service campaigns urging drivers to “start seeing motorcycles,” the accidents continue.
A 29-year-old motorcyclist from Ambler, Pennsylvania, died after being involved in a collision with a passenger vehicle last week. Police are continuing to investigate the motorcycle accident, which happened just before 11 p.m. Friday.
The man was traveling north on his motorcycle on a road in East Norriton, near Philadelphia, when he approached a side road leading to a tavern. Just then a vehicle pulled out of the tavern parking lot and into the path of the motorcycle. The bike struck the driver’s side of the passenger vehicle, according to police.
The motorcyclist suffered serious head injuries and was initially treated by ambulance paramedics before being airlifted to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. He was pronounced dead just after midnight early Saturday morning.
Police are still investigating the crash and its causes. “Whenever you have a case involving a fatal motor vehicle crash … you have to look at whether there was any intoxication involved, the vehicle inspections and the surrounding area of the crash,” a Montgomery County district attorney explained. While no cause has been determined yet, the fact that the passenger vehicle was leaving a bar leaves open the possibility that the driver was intoxicated. The district attorney said investigators are still waiting for the results of toxicology reports.
Whether or not the driver of the vehicle leaving the tavern is found to have been intoxicated and subsequently charged with a crime, the family of the motorcyclist may choose to seek damages from that driver for their losses through a wrongful-death lawsuit. Those losses might include funeral and burial costs, in addition to lost income from the motorcyclist and pain and suffering.
Source: The Times Herald, “Memorial built for victim of fatal motorcycle crash,” Carl Rotenberg, March 28, 2012