Reckless Reporting and Investigating in Motorcycle Accidents

[XLFD]

I have presented numerous articles where the police and media cooperate in further ruining the lives of an accident victim by misrepresenting the accident so as to shift the blame towards the motorcyclist, bicyclist or pedestrian hit by a vehicle.  Here's another good example out of Ottawa County.

From The Holland Sentinel 8-19-17:  "Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office responded to a two-vehicle crash Friday evening at the intersection of New Holland Street and 152nd Avenue in Port Sheldon Township.

The crash occurred at 9:24 p.m. Friday. Ottawa County Sheriff, the Park Township Fire Department, and the Port Sheldon Fire Department were dispatched to the scene.

A 17-year-old male from Holland was driving a Ford F-250 pickup truck traveling westbound on New Holland Street approaching 152nd Avenue.

As the pickup truck entered the intersection, it was struck by a motorcycle driven by Jesse Frye, 26, of Holland. Frye’s motorcycle was traveling northbound on 152nd Avenue.

Upon striking the pickup truck, Frye and the motorcycle went off the roadway and into a blueberry field on the west side of 152nd Avenue.

Frye was transported to Holland Hospital and later transferred to Spectrum Butterworth Hospital where he is listed in stable condition."

TV Station WWMT reported next:  "Jesse Frye, 26-year-old Holland native, was driving his motorcycle westbound on 152nd Avenue, when he struck a pick-up truck and sent him off the road..."

TV Station WOOD reported:  "Deputies say a pickup truck, driven by a 17-year-old Sparta man, had started up the road to go west on New Holland Street and went through the intersection of 152nd Avenue. As the pickup truck entered the intersection, it was struck by the motorcyclist, who then went off the road..."

TV Station FOX 17 alleged:  "The motorcyclist struck the pick up truck as it was going through the intersection before he went off the road..."

Each news article, seemingly independently researched from the local sheriff's office and independently written, contain the same narrative:  motorcyclist Jesse Frye carelessly ran into a pickup and wound up in the blueberry patch.  Nothing more is said of the particulars other than what has been presented.  The reader is left with the impression that Frye is a stupid biker that caused this accident by running into the truck.  But that's totally wrong, and should have been instantly gleaned by the investigating and reporting authorities.  Here's a map of what the pickup driver saw before he went across 152nd Street.

You see that stop sign, those often ignored regulatory traffic control devices mandate a pickup driver to stop and proceed at an intersection only when their advancement would not violate any traffic coming through the road without a stop sign, as that is the case here.  Let's verify that and see what Jesse Frye dealt with.

Frye's bike path (black line) proceeded north up 152nd, when the pickup driver's path (red line) began to cross in front of the oncoming motorcycle.  But the bike didn't strike the truck, because then it would have just stopped the motorcyclists forward progress.  Basic physics.  So how does the motorcyclist end up north beyond the point of impact, except by being hit on the side by the truck?  This is so easily verified from a picture of the motorcycle (courtesy of relative Jack Frye) 

So the question to ask yourself is how does any competent traffic accident investigation unit fail to:

1)  report that the truck driver failed to properly yield to a biker who had no duty to stop.

2)  see that the biker could not have ran into the truck by where he wound up and how the motorcycle looked after the crash.

3)  recognize a traffic violation by the driver occurred and cited them

But a supplemental question you must also ask is why did several local TV stations and newspapers not realize that the narrative was off and highly skewed against the person who seems to have been riding totally within his rights that night.  These 'respected' news outlets just skewered the name and reputation of the victim in this incident to add to his life-altering injuries and destroyed bike. 

The pickup driver gets to live in anonymity and without likely repercussions in the future other than some insured bodywork after running into a motorcyclist with the right-of-way simply because the system will not protect the rights of the vulnerable users of the road. 

[Willy]

It doesn't say who was at fault for the accident, only that the motorcycle hit the truck. It's possible they are still investigating the accident and will make a decision soon. One factor that's not mentioned is that this happened 43 minutes after the sun had set. It's possible the cyclist did not have his lights on and the truck driver did not see him. It's hard to make a judgement about this until all the facts have been revealed.

[XLFD]

Back in high school when I had Tom Kudwa as a Chemistry/Physics instructor at MCC High School, before he went west, he had a saying:  "Physics don't lie."  The condition of the motorcycle and the fact it and he wound up northwest of the collision, shows that he was hit well and on the side, not enough to stop the forward momentum of the bike and him, and damage all on the right side-- both his motorcycle in the picture above and him with impact damage on his right extremities.

Had he been allegedly driving without a light I am certain it would have already been included with the report even if it hadn't been verified.  That was an important point though, that it was dark out and the fact we will likely never know whether the bike was speeding or not, as they don't have crash impact data systems.  A deputy with knowledge of physics could figure out approximate speed by measurements of where the bike ended up, and how fast the pickup was doing at the time of impact, but I just don't see that happening. 

A careless biker stupidly driving at night when it's even harder to see them ran into a car, end of report.

[AQUAMAN]

If your drawing of this accident scene is correct X, the motorcycle had to be hit on his right broadside to go into the ditch and blueberry patch. As you stated, if the motorcycle had broadsided the pickup truck, he would have come to an abrupt stop and go over the handlebars into the side of the truck, nothing else is plausible nor possible. I wonder whom the unidentified 17 year old p-u truck driver was? Is he a relative of someone in the city or county officials capacity? He got let go unfairly for this, and should have had a ticket and/or sobriety tests. The biker had all the rights to go ahead without stopping, and the p-u truck driver was careless here imho. The Honda bike appears older style, as it has a rear sissy bar seat, so, probably a manual light system too, not automatic like newer bikes.

[Willy]

Since we're assuming what happened. Let's assume the truck driver saw the bike at the last second and attempted to swerve. Then it's possible the bike glanced off the side of the truck as it was trying to maneuver in order to avoid a collision. 

X, I wonder what you physics instructor thinks about the data and physics behind the Global warming conspiracy.

[XLFD]

He undoubtedly would note that he was not privy to the mysteries of climate astrology.

Your assumption goes against the narrative, the police and media do not intimate in any way that the pickup went west by northwest, just west, or that it's true westward course was otherwise diverted by the motorcycle.  Let's not forget, just by entering the intersection with a motorcycle lawfully advancing up 52nd puts the accident's blame squarely on the driver, even if he realized his mistake too late.  If you can score a picture of the pickup involved that shows no impact damage to the pickup's front, I will eat my hat, or borrow yours if I'm not wearing mine.