Newport News sees Two Fatal Motorcycle Accidents

More motorcyclists get out on the roads of Virginia and North Carolina in the summer months. Typically this leads to more accidents and an increase in motorcyclists sustaining life threatening injuries.

Motorcyclists are the most vulnerable of road users and it doesn’t take a high impact crash to result in a loss of life. I was saddened to read about two fatal recent motorcycle accidents in Newport News.

On Friday morning, Westbound I-64 was closed in Newport News for several hours after a motorcyclist crashed at the Denbigh Boulevard overpass, WAVY.com reported.

Shortly before 4 a.m., Virginia State Police (VSP) troopers were called to the crash scene close to marker 253. WAVY reported on how a 2001 Harley Davidson had entered a work zone and crashed into the back of a parked construction vehicle, stated VSP Public Relations Director Corinne Geller.

There was no one inside the construction vehicle, but the impact ejected the motorcyclist, a 36-year-old from Hampton, who died at the scene, Geller said.

That fatal crash came just days after VDOT launched a safety campaign, urging drivers to pay extra attention when driving in work zones. Last year, 15 people were killed in work zone crashes in the Commonwealth, and so far this year, VDOT has logged 40 accidents in work zones across only Hampton Roads.

A week earlier a 65-year-old man from Jackson County, Indiana, died in a wreck involving a car in Newport News.

According to a Virginia State Police report, the rider died at Riverside Regional Medical Center in Newport News as a result of the injuries he sustained after he lost control of the 2005 Yamaha motorcycle he was driving and struck the right front of a 2006 Toyota Camry. The wreck occurred on a ramp from J. Clyde Morris Blvd. or State Road 17 to eastbound Interstate 64.

Police said the motorcyclist was attempting to change lanes when the accident happened. He gave a hand signal to make a left lane change and tried to switch lanes. He then hit the right front of the Camry driven by an 81-year-old Maryland woman.

Motorcyclists have a responsibility to drive carefully. Other drivers have a responsibility to look out for motorcyclists who are not always easily visible. Many drivers fail to see motorcyclists when they are making right turns and this is a leading cause of fatalities on motorcycles. Every year there are 100,000 accidents involving motorcycles. See our Virginia motorcycle accident injury lawyers page for more information or call Cooper Hurley Injury Lawyers at 757.455.0077.