Maryland Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Blog
Aside from the heat, it would appear that this is particularly bad summer for persons on foot and riding bikes in Anne Arundel County, according to news reports of late. In fact the month of July started out very badly for a number of people who were either hit by passenger cars or commercial trucks while walking or cycling.
As Maryland personal injury attorneys, I and my staff have represented many individuals injured in car, truck and motorcycle crashes over the years. Pedestrian and bicycle-related traffic accidents can be some of the more deadly for the unprotected walker, runner or rider; more so, in some cases, than those individuals involved in a high-speed interstate collision or other car-to-car roadway wreck.
Based on various news reports, there were more than a half-dozen bicycle- and pedestrian-related traffic injuries and fatalities within ten days alone in Anne Arundel Co. As Maryland and Washington, D.C., injury attorneys and occasional pedestrians ourselves, we know all too well that persons on foot can sustain serious and sometimes life-threatening injuries if struck by a passenger automobile or commercial delivery truck. In fact, pedestrians have been know to be killed by speeding bicycles on sidewalks and though marked crosswalks.
Traumatic brain injury is one of the common injuries for pedestrians and bicycle riders, since most people fall down when hit by a car or truck, striking their head on the hard tarmac, curb or other roadway surface. A blow to the head can cause loss of motor function or coordination, trouble with memory, even forgetting how to eat or do the simple things we all take for granted everyday of our lives. Helmets help, of course, but not every time.
Not long ago, an article mentioned the rather marked increase in motor vehicle accidents involving pedestrians and cyclists. According to the news, official in Anne Arundel County noted the increase in these kinds of accidents, noting that there were seven incidents in just two weeks. These included the following:
— A firefighter working out of Glen Burnie’s Station 26 was sent to the hospital following his being struck by a hit-and-run driver while at the scene of a fire along a stretch of Telegraph Rd.
— A 17-year-old girl from the Pasadena, MD, area was hit by a passenger car as she crossed Ritchie Highway in Severna Park. A second teen was also hospitalized. These two individuals were reportedly not crossing in a marked crosswalk area, and police apparently were not prepared to charge the driver.
— Around mid July, another pedestrian died after being hit by a pickup truck near Montevideo Dr. and Montevideo Rd. in Jessup, MD. Police said at the time of the news report that charges were pending against the driver of the truck, since authorities believed
that speed and alcohol may have played a role in the accident.
— A 25-year-old man was killed by a hit-and-run driver while he riding his bike along a stretch of Ritchie Highway in Brooklyn Park, MD. At the time of the news articles, police were still seeking the identity of the alleged hit-and-run driver.
Man Struck By Car, Seriously Hurt in Gambrills, Patch.com, July 28, 2011
Pedestrian Killed in Jessup Early Wednesday, Patch.com, July 13, 2011