Fatal Motorcycle Accidents

Maryland Motorcycle News: Three Fatal Accidents, Excessive Speed Blamed in Each

September 9, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Whether you ride a Harley, Yamaha, Honda or any one of the vast array of motorcycles out there, you know how liberating these machines can be. However, you probably also know that these vehicles can be widow-makers when operated under the wrong circumstances. The incidence of motorcycle accidents, as reported last month, is expected to increase in 2009 due to the poor economy and the increase in use of more fuel-efficient two-wheeled transportation. As a Maryland motorcycle accident lawyer, my firm handles a large number of injury and accidental death claims involving bikes.

Although many accidents are the result of another person’s negligence, sometimes speed can contribute to the severity of a crash, which is particularly dangerous for the motorcycle rider. This is the case for the following three bike accidents which occurred in and around Maryland.

Columbia, Maryland

One rider was killed and another critically injured just a few days ago when the motorcycles they were riding collided on Maryland Route 100. According to Howard County police, the accident happened in the late afternoon near Snowden River Parkway on the westbound side of Route 100.

Sadly, a 41-year-old rider, Ronal Wayne Parker Jr. of Mitchellville, was pronounced dead at the scene. The other motorcyclist, Vincent Williams, 39, of Catonsville was air-lifted by Maryland State Police Medivac to University of Maryland Shock Trauma. Reports indicate that following the collision, one of the motorcycles continued briefly and struck a guardrail, which threw the rider from the bike.

Although police are still investigating the accident, a number of causes are possible, including rider error or defective equipment, each of which could have played a part in the accident.

Springfield, Virginia

Virginia State Police reported a fatal motorcycle accident that occurred on a Saturday morning early in August. The accident happened at 3 a.m. on Interstate 495 about three-quarters of a mile north of I-95. Authorities had to shut down the southbound lanes of I-495 for about six hours until emergency crews and police completed their work at the crash scene.

Based on news reports, police received calls that two motorcycles were traveling at high rates of speed along the interstate. An eye witness apparently saw one of the motorcycle riders pass a dump truck, then moments later the second motorcycle struck the back of the dump truck. That bike was subsequently hit by a 2005 Honda Civic killing 21-year-old Christopher M. Ford of Gainesville, Virginia.

The first motorcycle operator, 23-year-old Wendell Howard, Jr. of Manassas, was charged with reckless driving and failure to have a valid motorcycle endorsement. Police did not know at the time if alcohol was a factor in the crash.

AMA Expects Washington, D.C., Motorcycle Fatality Rate to Increase in 2009

August 9, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

According to a report from the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration), 2008 saw a total of 38 motorcycle riders killed in the District of Columbia and other nearby jurisdictions. Most recently, Peter Horst of the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) says his organization anticipates this figure will balloon in 2009.

Already this August, three motorcyclists died in less than two days as a result of multiple-vehicle traffic accidents. Although the economy has caused a decrease in the sales of motorcycles, riders who have bikes are using them more than usual in an effort to save on gas money.

For 2008, the number of U.S. traffic injuries and fatalities for every motor vehicle category dropped — all except the motorcycle accident category. Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C. may have bucked the trend last year, but as our D.C. accident lawyers reported earlier in this post the total for 2009 is expected to be greater.

Teenage Driver Who Killed a Maryland Motorcycle Rider will Only Pay a Small Fine

June 1, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

The 19-year-old motorist who reportedly caused a deadly motorcycle accident that killed a Maryland rider was fined $115 for the accident, although accident investigators determined that the driver was otherwise not negligent in regard to this traffic fatality. The deceased rider, Harry D. Catts, of Smithsburg, Maryland, passed away due to injuries received late in April on Pennsylvania’s Route 11.

Despite the seriousness of the accident, police and the local prosecutor’s office declared that Samantha Young was not “grossly” negligent when she turned her vehicle left into the path of the oncoming motorcycle. Eye witnesses said they saw the teenager make a left turn in front of the 72-year-old rider, who then struck the side of the girl’s vehicle.

Police reported that the crash occurred after 1 p.m. on April 26 at a busy intersection near the Plainfield exit of Interstate 81. According to reports, Young told an officer at the scene that she saw the green light and made the turn, but claimed she didn’t see the motorcyclist. An accident reconstruction team reviewed the crash scene but apparently found nothing out of the ordinary. Authorities stated that there was no alcohol or cell-phone use involved, and police said that the traffic signals were found to be working properly.

As Maryland Automobile Accident Attorneys, our office has represented many families who have lost a loved one through a motorcycle or car accident. Motorcycle accidents, in particular, can result in very serious bodily injuries or even death due to complications from head trauma or spinal cord injuries.

In this case, the police determined that the driver who caused the accident was simply inexperienced and therefore not grossly negligent for the motorcycle rider’s death. Despite the local district attorney’s statement that the accident was “a mere error of judgment,” there is little solace in the fact that the young woman received only a monetary penalty.

Wrongful Death Lawsuit: Maryland Man Must Pay $2 Million Restitution to Family of Dead Motorcyclist

February 2, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

The Washington County Circuit Court has ordered a man convicted of manslaughter by vehicle to pay Debra Reed Fields-Jordan’s family $2 million in restitution. Fields-Jordan died in a May 2008 truck-motorcycle accident when the driver of a pickup truck ignored a stop sign and hit the woman’s motorcycle on MD Route 77.

The driver of the pickup truck, Harry W. Shrader, fled the scene of the fatal motorcycle accident. Several days later, police arrested Shrader after tracing the vehicle to him — the truck was registered in his name. In November of last year, Shrader was handed a 10-year prison sentence following a guilty plea on the count of vehicular manslaughter. He is now being held at the Maryland Correctional Training Center. According to reports, Shrader was drunk at the time of the fatal traffic accident.

In August 2008, Fields-Jordan’s husband, Stephen J Jordan, sued Schrader for his wife’s wrongful death. Jordan sought $2 million in punitive damages and $4 million in compensatory damages. He accused Schrader of causing emotional trauma, mental anguish, loss of companionship, society, marital care, comfort, protection, advice, attention, training, guidance, counsel, education, and his wife’s love.