Media Botches Weekend Reports Over Fatal Motorcycle Accidents

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Three fatal motorcycle accidents occurred Friday, Saturday and Sunday in the central part of Western Michigan.  Their proximity to one another wasn't the only common theme between them.  Each accident was caused by three vehicle drivers not following the right-of-way rules of the road on three bike riders that were in compliance. 

As we have seen in other accidents of this type, the police and media focus not on the illegal driving of the vehicle operators and how it caused the death, but on whether the motorcyclist was wearing a helmet or not and that the driver escaped without injuries.  If the media allows comments on their website or Facebook presence, you hear people bemoaning how some bikers drive badly (somehow justifying the death of one driving within the law) and how the vehicle operator will have to live with this bad memory for the rest of their life. 

This is all crazy.  A person is dead because someone behind the wheel of a vehicle could not drive safely, and some sociopathic branch of our society is willing to demonize the deceased biker because he was not wearing a helmet and rode on one of those motorcycles they find annoying-- plus forgive and care about the negligent driver responsible for the avoidable accident.  I am sure  the friends and family of the biker don't appreciate the disrespect shown to their beloved. 

The bias comes through in the content of the police reports and the media reports, sometimes subtle, sometimes not.  There is probably no better way to recognize it than see the difference between last year's death of Trooper Chad Wolf and James Bush.  Both were bikers who were killed by collisions involving vehicles, but there was one difference: Bush was riding lawfully when a police car turned in front of him, Trooper Wolf was apparently riding his bike recklessly when he rode it into a trailer from behind. 

The killer of Bush, a policeman, is not getting prosecuted; the owner of the trailer the trooper ran into is getting prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.  Hypocritically, the media coverage justifies both.  In the three stories from WOOD TV (I am not picking on that station, other area outlets have similar coverage) that follows, I will briefly explain why the coverage is insufficient and/or prejudicial in order to educate the reader of this article on how to identify it and demand more.  Hopefully the writers of these WOOD articles and others will get the message too.  They will be presented with their headline, the Facebook tagline in italics, and the article in full.

Motorcyclist killed in Ottawa County crash

Deputies say the motorcyclist was wearing a helmet at the time of the crash

SPRING LAKE TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) — Ottawa County sheriff’s deputies Friday responded to fatal wreck involving a vehicle and a motorcycle.

The wreck happened just after 6 p.m. on 168th Avenue near Taft Street in Spring Lake Township, north of Grand Haven, according to Ottawa County Sheriff’s Department.

Deputies said a motorcyclist was heading northbound on 168th Avenue as a driver was leaving a private drive on the west side of the street and didn’t see the motorcycle. The motorcycle and vehicle collided nearly head on.

The motorcyclist, 59-year-old Mark Snyder, of Fruitport, was thrown from the 1997 Yamaha motorcycle. He was treated on scene by witnesses until first responders arrived on scene.

Snyder was taken to the hospital where he later died of his injuries.

Deputies say Snyder was wearing a helmet at the time of the crash.

The driver of the vehicle, 48-year-old Eva Meekhof, of Spring Lake, was not injured in the crash.

The crash remains under investigation.

http://woodtv.com/2016/04/15/motorcyclist-killed-in-ottawa-county-c...

The mechanics of the accident is known:  the biker was driving down the street and a vehicle ignored the rider's right-of-way and pulled out in front of him from a driveway.  In that area, it's fairly flat and visibility is great both ways.  The elements are here for a violation of MCL 257.601d, moving violation causing death, a misdemeanor. 

In People v. Pace, the MI Court of Appeals held that MCL 257.601d imposes strict liability on motorists who commit a moving violation that causes serious impairment of a body function to another person or death.  They found it only requires a causal link between a moving violation and another person suffering a serious impairment or death.  No negligence or intent is required to violate the statute.  The police and press have already presented the causal link as fact, so the law suggests the arrest of the driver.

Beyond that the headline and tagline mentions a crash where a motorcycle rider was not wearing a helmet, it doesn't let the reader know that he was not at fault at all.  We find that the motorist didn't see the biker in paragraph three, which to me shows negligence, to others it seems to absolve the driver of blame. 

Man killed in motorcycle crash in Grand Rapids Twp.

Deputies say the motorcyclist was not wearing a helmet at the time of the crash

GRAND RAPIDS TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) — A motorcyclist was killed in a crash in Grand Rapids Township on Saturday.

It happened at 3 p.m. on 4 Mile Road and Summitview in front of the Provin Trails Park in Grand Rapids Township, according to a news release from the Kent County Sheriff’s Department.

Deputies say a motorcyclist was heading eastbound on 4 Mile Road when a vehicle heading westbound made a left turn into the park.

The motorcyclist lost control and struck the frontend of the vehicle. He sustained a head injury and was taken to the hospital where he later died of his injuries.

According to the release, the motorcyclist, 52-year-old Jon Michael Penning, was not wearing a helmet at the time of the crash.

The driver, a 17-year-old from the Grand Rapids area, was not injured.

The crash remains under investigation.

http://woodtv.com/2016/04/16/man-killed-in-motorcycle-crash-in-gran...

The headline and tagline are very similar to the first, but the reportage is even more outrageous.  The experienced motorcyclist "lost control" and struck the front of the vehicle driven by the inexperienced 17 year old who turned left directly in front of the biker, robbing him of his right-of-way in proceeding down the road.  The biker wasn't wearing a helmet is the only other thing the police and press want to report. 

Can you imagine being Jon Penning's wife or kids and reading this insipid account of how their loved one died?  The minor driver is guilty of MCL 257.601d, and had no excuse not to have seen the biker coming down the road as seen in the above picture of the area with the red representing the driver and the blue the innocent rider.

Motorcyclist dies in Allegan Co. crash with SUV; driver arrested

The crash happened around 12:50 a.m. on Sunday at the intersection of 48th Street and 142nd Avenue

FILLMORE TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) — Michigan State Police say a motorcyclist is dead after a crash in Fillmore Township that led to the arrest of the other driver.

It happened around 12:50 a.m. on Sunday at the intersection of 48th Street and 142nd Avenue. Police say the driver of the SUV was following the motorcycle on 48th Street and neither vehicle stopped at a stop sign. The SUV ran into the back of the motorcycle, ejecting the rider. The rider of the motorcycle and the SUV left the roadway.

The driver of the motorcycle was identified as 47-year-old Ronald Freeman of Hamilton. He was airlifted to the hospital where he died of his injuries. Freeman was not wearing a helmet.

Alcohol is believed to be a factor in the accident. The driver of the SUV was arrested and will be arraigned on charges of Operating While Intoxicated Causing Death.

http://woodtv.com/2016/04/17/motorcyclist-dies-in-allegan-co-crash-...

Here the driver who killed the biker was arrested, but only because they seemed impaired.  In this case, MCL 257.625(4) takes effect, a felony that could have the driver imprisoned for 15 years, unlike the misdemeanor and maximum of two years that the other drivers above could face.

The article claims that both did not stop at the stop sign, but then how come the bike was still rear-ended?  It would show that the biker at least slowed down more, and likely heard the drunk driver coming up full speed behind him when he was coasting down.  The accident would have been much worse for the biker if he had come to a stop, but his friends and family will have to see stories like the above saying he disobeyed a stop sign as his last act in life.  And the extra indignity of the police not tacking on the misdemeanor for the moving violation to his killer.

When the driver of a motor vehicle causes accidents like these three, whether it be to kill or severely maim motorcyclists, bicyclists, or pedestrians, due to their inability to safely operate their vehicle, they should lose the privilege to make such mistakes in the immediate future and face jail time.

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Another motorcyclist killed by a Sunday afternoon driver in West Michigan (Battle Creek) who happened to be drunk profiled on WOOD:

BEDFORD TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) — A woman suspected of drunken driving was arrested Sunday after a crash near Battle Creek left a motorcyclist dead.

The crash involving a motorcycle and a car happened around 5 p.m. near the intersection of W. Michigan Avenue and Collier Avenue in Bedford Township, according to the Battle Creek Police Department.

Police said that when first responders arrived on the scene, they found the motorcyclist, a 65-year-old Battle Creek man, unresponsive. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The driver of the car, a 59-year-old Battle Creek woman, was arrested at the scene on a charge of operating while intoxicated causing death.

Police did not immediately provide the name of the motorcyclist or the woman who was arrested.

Further details surrounding the crash were not released Sunday. Police said they are still investigating.

http://woodtv.com/2016/04/17/bcpd-biker-killed-in-crash-with-suspec...

A later report from the BC media establishes:  Police said in their preliminary investigation that Welton (the biker) was eastbound on Michigan Avenue and had slowed or stopped to make a left turn into a gas station when he was struck from behind by an eastbound car.  The 60 year old woman driver has been arraigned with OWI causing death.