Summer has finally arrived, and many people throughout Illinois are taking advantage of the warm weather to ride their motorcycles. Bikers know that there are dangers on the road, and most riders operate their vehicles with a great deal of caution. After all, no one wants to be involved in a motorcycle accident. However, even the most careful rider can fall victim to the careless or reckless behavior of others.
Our readers the Belleville area may want to note a cautionary tale involving a deadly motorcycle accident. Police believe that a 31-year-old driver was under the influence of drugs when he attempted to turn left in the path of an oncoming motorcycle. The motorcycle rider, a 63-year-old man, suffered fatal injuries in the crash.
The apparently at-fault driver faces a range of felony and misdemeanor charges. Police believe that he was not only impaired but was also in the throes of a road rage incident with another car at the time of the accident. The other car was driven by a 16-year-old girl who has not been charged in the incident.
Police in the area sent their accident reconstruction unit to the scene of the crash. Towns throughout Southern Illinois employ such teams to investigate the exact causes of traffic accidents. Information gleaned from these investigations can prove especially helpful for victims or their families who pursue personal injury or wrongful death claims against negligent drivers. In this particular case, the family of the 63-year-old motorcyclist would appear to have grounds to pursue some measure of compensation after what is no doubt an incalculable loss.
Source: Wheaton Patch, “Plainfield Man Charged in Fatal Motorcycle Accident on Ogden Avenue,” Collin Czarnecki, June 14, 2012