Maryland Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Blog
As the motorcycle season winds down here in Maryland, now is not the time to take your mind off the road and all those cars, minivans and large commercial trucks out there. As any rider who wants to avoid a traffic accident knows, bikes are nearly invisible to many motorists mainly because of their small profile and their even fewer numbers when compared to the thousands of four-wheeled motor vehicles on the roadways.
As a Baltimore motorcycle accident lawyer and Washington, D.C., injury attorney, I understand how easily a carefree ride can turn bad, usually with a collision between a bike and a much larger and more imposing passenger vehicle. Make no mistake, many bike riders involved in an automobile or commercial truck accident suffer life altering injuries, if they are even lucky enough to survive in the first place.
And it is a sad fact that a certain percentage of motorcycle riders are killed in traffic accidents. It is with this reminder that we say, please ride defensively and live to see another day. On that note, there was a story of a seasoned biker who was killed earlier in the year as a result of not being easily seen.
According to a news article, Carroll County, MD, saw its third motorcycle fatality when a 41-year-old rider was hit by another motorist along Maryland Route 30. The accident happened around 6:30pm on a Thursday evening when a vehicle turned left in front of his bike in Manchester.
Based on police reports, Irving Wheeler was headed southbound toward Ebbvale Road. A Chevy Cavalier, driven by Lawrence Taylor of Manchester, was reportedly going northbound. Just as Wheeler approached the Chevy, the car attempted a left turn onto Ebbvale Road apparently right into the path of the oncoming cycle.
Both Taylor and Wheeler were transported to the Carroll Hospital Center. According to reports, Wheeler hit the car directly with his head, likely causing massive trauma. Doctors told a family member that the rider should have been pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the car was treated for minor injuries.
At the time of the article, Wheeler was the third fatal bike crash in Carroll County for 2010. According to police, Wheeler’s accident and another of the three were deemed not the rider’s fault. The third was apparently rider error when the motorcycle collided with a mailbox and a fence on Alesia-Lineboro Road in Manchester.
Md. 30 crash is Carroll’s third motorcycle fatality this year, CarrollCountyTimes.com, June 16, 2010