The Concealed Weapon that Killed the Motorcyclist

[XLFD]

Earlier this evening, a motorcyclist was killed in Springfield, near Battle Creek.  Three media outlets covered this story using different words throughout, these articles weren't crafted from a template.  The following are the headlines used by each media/TV outlet, followed by the first one-sentence paragraph starting the story out

Deputies: Motorcyclist killed in crash in Springfield (WOOD):   A motorcyclist was killed in a crash in the Battle Creek area Sunday afternoon.

Motorcyclist killed in Calhoun County crash (FOX 17):  A motorcyclist is dead after a crash in Calhoun County.

Motorcyclist killed in Calhoun County accident (WILX):  A motorcyclist was killed in an accident in Calhoun County Sunday afternoon.

The headlines and the introductory paragraph, which for most news stories tells the basic who, what, where, when why, and how of an article, indicate the same thing: a motorcyclist is dead after crashing in Calhoun County.  At this stage, most people will presume that the motorcyclist was his own cause of death, by crashing into something by operating unsafely.  

Only when we get to later paragraphs do we get to the mystery of the crash, mindful that the headline and opening paragraph give no indication of the causation or the agent that brought death to the as yet unnamed 50 year old motorcycle rider:

WOOD:  The Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office says a car turning onto eastbound Dickman pulled into the path of an eastbound motorcycle.

FOX 17:  Deputies say a car turned eastbound onto W. Dickman Rd. in front of a motorcycle, causing a crash.

WILX:  According to Calhoun County Sheriffs, the accident happened when a car turned in front of the motorcyclist driving eastbound on W. Dickman Rd at the intersection of Wyndtree Rd.

The deputies told each news agency that the motorcyclist was effectively dead because the car committed a moving violation (violating right-of-way laws) causing death.  Each of the news agencies decided that this was not a very important part of the story, and buried that information in a 15 word or so sentence in their articles.  The killer who used the concealed weapon in the articles will never be named and will never be charged.  That will never change unless the public demands justice for victims of such negligence by drivers and the media.