Two people were injured and one killed in an accident involving a motorcycle and a Ford pickup Thursday, May 5.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, the accident happened at the intersection of State Road 21 and County Road 315C in Clay County. A 65-year-old Jacksonville man was reportedly driving his 2002 Honda VTA 1800 in the northbound lanes of SR 21 when a 73-year-old man driving a 2013 Ford F-150 failed to yield at the intersection. As a result, the Honda slammed directly into the driver side door of the pickup.
The motorcyclist died at the scene of the accident. Meanwhile, the pickup driver was taken to Orange Park Medical Center to be treated for serious injuries, and his passenger was treated for minor injuries at the same facility.
Failure to yield accidents extremely common
These types of accidents, while quite common, are also among the most dangerous — as they often result in driver-side collisions. They are especially deadly for motorcyclists, who do not have anywhere near the same level of protection as people driving in small passenger vehicles, let alone larger pickup trucks. There is no vehicle body surrounding them and typically no airbags.
Additionally, the heavier weight of most other passenger vehicles on the road means that even low-impact collisions could cause a great deal of damage to a motorcycle and its riders, while often leaving the other vehicle and its occupants relatively unharmed.
Should the family of the victim in this accident wish to file a wrongful death lawsuit against the at-fault driver, they would simply need to prove the man broke the rules of the road by failing to yield to the motorcyclist, and that the infraction directly caused the accident and the victim’s death.
Motorcycle accidents are often very serious in nature, so be sure you have the legal representation you need. Reach out to the dedicated personal injury attorneys at Jacksonville’s Combs Greene, PA.
Attorney Mark Link contributed to this blog post.