muleskinner
Turbocharged
Last week a 27 year old Marine who just got home from Afghanistan last year was killed by a drunk driver while riding his sport bike solo about 10 miles from my home. He was married and the father of a three year old boy. Out of curiosity I went out and looked at the scene.
The road is a two lane East/West rural asphalt surface road. At the time of the accident the road surface was dry and free of debris. The accident occurred during daylight. The lanes are 15 feet wide with dirt shoulders on both sides. At the point of impact there is a dirt side road that crosses the asphalt road at a right angle. The speed limit is 55MPH. The road was straight with no visibility issues. The Marine was traveling West bound on the asphalt road. Speed unknown to me. He was wearing a full face helmet and dressed in jeans and a jacket.
The suspect was traveling East bound in a Ford F350 pickup at an unknown speed. As the bike approached the dirt side road, the driver of the truck, who was later found to be drunk, made a left turn in front of the bike. Due to the drivers intoxication, he fled the scene in his vehicle. The police searched the area and later found the drivers vehicle at his home about 1/2 mile from the scene with damage to the front passenger side of the vehicle.
While I was at the scene a female subject who lives across the road from where the crash occurred came out and spoke with me. She told me she had heard the impact from her home and ran to the scene. Once at the scene she saw the rider laying on the roadway and the truck gone. She pointed to an area of dried blood about two feet in diameter and told me that's where the riders head was when she got to the scene. What was left of his sport bike was resting on the road surface about 10 feet West of his body. She said she believed he was DOA. She pointed to an area about 10 feet from where she found the rider and stated that is where his "Full face helmet" was found!
After speaking with her, I checked out the Orange markings the police had made on the road surface and tried to figure out what had happened. I paced out a total of 70 feet of pending and full skid marks. It appears the rider applied his front and rear brakes, causing the rear tire to go into a pending skid for about 10 feet, at which point the rear tire went into a full skid.
About 20 feet past that point you could see where the front tire went into a pending skid and then quickly went into a full locked skid. Both front and rear tires were in a full locked skid all the way to the point of impact. The bike appeared to have stayed upright and straight all the way to the point of impact with the truck.
Sad. I hope the truck driver gets at least 25 years. Two felonies here. Driving while intoxicated causing fatal injuries and leaving the scene of an injury/fatal accident.
The road is a two lane East/West rural asphalt surface road. At the time of the accident the road surface was dry and free of debris. The accident occurred during daylight. The lanes are 15 feet wide with dirt shoulders on both sides. At the point of impact there is a dirt side road that crosses the asphalt road at a right angle. The speed limit is 55MPH. The road was straight with no visibility issues. The Marine was traveling West bound on the asphalt road. Speed unknown to me. He was wearing a full face helmet and dressed in jeans and a jacket.
The suspect was traveling East bound in a Ford F350 pickup at an unknown speed. As the bike approached the dirt side road, the driver of the truck, who was later found to be drunk, made a left turn in front of the bike. Due to the drivers intoxication, he fled the scene in his vehicle. The police searched the area and later found the drivers vehicle at his home about 1/2 mile from the scene with damage to the front passenger side of the vehicle.
While I was at the scene a female subject who lives across the road from where the crash occurred came out and spoke with me. She told me she had heard the impact from her home and ran to the scene. Once at the scene she saw the rider laying on the roadway and the truck gone. She pointed to an area of dried blood about two feet in diameter and told me that's where the riders head was when she got to the scene. What was left of his sport bike was resting on the road surface about 10 feet West of his body. She said she believed he was DOA. She pointed to an area about 10 feet from where she found the rider and stated that is where his "Full face helmet" was found!
After speaking with her, I checked out the Orange markings the police had made on the road surface and tried to figure out what had happened. I paced out a total of 70 feet of pending and full skid marks. It appears the rider applied his front and rear brakes, causing the rear tire to go into a pending skid for about 10 feet, at which point the rear tire went into a full skid.
About 20 feet past that point you could see where the front tire went into a pending skid and then quickly went into a full locked skid. Both front and rear tires were in a full locked skid all the way to the point of impact. The bike appeared to have stayed upright and straight all the way to the point of impact with the truck.
Sad. I hope the truck driver gets at least 25 years. Two felonies here. Driving while intoxicated causing fatal injuries and leaving the scene of an injury/fatal accident.
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