Motorcycle Deaths Remain High
Motorcycle Deaths Remain High
Requiring safety helmets saves lives, reduces injuries
The grim facts:
Deaths from motorcycle crashes had more than doubled in the past decade – from 2,294 in 1998 to 5,290 in 2008 — Another 96,000 people were injured in motorcycle crashes in 2008.
Although there was a decline in 2009, 4,462 motorcyclists, or an average of 12 motorcyclists everyday, were still lost! Another 90,000 motorcyclists were injured.
The number of motorcycle deaths in 2009 is more than double the total number of people killed in 2009 in all aviation, rail, marine and pipeline accidents combined.
Head injuries are a leading cause of death in motorcycle crashes.
Motorcyclists who crash without a helmet are three times more likely to have brain injuries than those wearing a helmet.
In addition to the tragic loss of life, the economic cost to society is enormous. In 2005, motorcyclists without helmets were involved in 36 percent of all motorcycle crashes, but represented 70 percent of the total cost of all motorcycle crashes – $12.2 billion.
Medical and other costs for unhelmeted riders involved in crashes are staggering, estimated at $310,000 per crash-involved motorcyclist. That’s more than four times the overall cost of accidents involving helmeted riders.
Helmets save lives
DOT-compliant helmets (DOT FMVSS 218) are extremely effective. They can prevent injury and death from motorcycle crashes.
Wearing a helmet reduces the overall risk of dying in a crash by 37%.
In addition to preventing fatalities, the use of helmets reduces the need for ambulance service, hospitalization, intensive care, rehabilitation, and long-term care as a result of motorcycle crashes.
Wearing a helmet does not increase the risk of other types of injury.
Motorcycle helmet laws
20 states, D.C., and 4 territories require all riders and passengers to wear helmets; 27 states and 1 territory have partial laws requiring minors and/or passengers to wear helmets; currently 3 states, Illinois, Iowa and New Hampshire have no helmet use requirement.
States that have repealed laws requiring all riders and passengers to wear helmets have seen dramatically lower helmet usage rates and significant increases in deaths and injuries.
Partial laws do not protect younger riders. Only universal helmet laws significantly reduce fatality rates for riders aged 15-20.
What should you know and do?
When you ride a motorcycle, always wear a helmet – even when traveling short distances. Whether your ride will be long or short, at highway speeds or neighborhood cruising, a helmet is the only way to protect your head if a crash occurs. And, make sure that anyone who rides with you also wears a helmet.
Make sure your helmet meets the federal safety standard (DOT FMVSS 218) by checking for the ―DOT‖ sticker on the back of the helmet. Novelty (non-compliant) helmets offer little protection in a crash.
Talk to or write your local and state legislators and urge them to require that all motorcycle riders and passengers wear FMVSS 218-compliant helmets.
Need more information?
Visit the NTSB Web site: www.ntsb.gov
One dead, four hurt in Florida auto accident
A Cottondale woman died, three children were seriously injured and the driver was critically hurt in a one-vehicle accident on Interstate 10 Saturday.
Kim B. Vickery, 46, was taken to Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola for treatment following the accident. She died of her injuries Sunday.
The driver, 47-year-old Kenneth G. Vickery, also of Cottondale, suffered critical injuries, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
Children Lane Anderson 7, Zane Anderson, 5, and Kyle Vickery, 16, were all listed by the highway patrol with serious injuries.
According to the accident report, Kenneth Vickery was westbound near mile marker 63 in Okaloosa Countywhen he lost control of the 1998 Ford Contour he was driving.
Vickery was trying to move from the outside lane to the inside lane when he lost control of the vehicle, according to the highway patrol report.
The car started spinning clockwise, slid off the road and onto the shoulder, and turned over on its left side before striking a large pine tree, according to the report.
Officials did not initially know whether the occupants were wearing seat belts prior to the crash, and the case is still under investigation.
The report did not indicate the familial relationships between the occupants, if any.
Wellington, Florida woman killed in Turnpike accident identified
A Wellington woman who died early Monday morning in a one car accident on the Florida Turnpikehas been identified as Shanique Leshae Corbett.
The accident happened on the Turnpike, just south of Orange Blossom Trail in Orlando, when Emmylee A. Rousseau, 20, of Pembroke Pines lost control of the gold Lexus she was driving and veered into the median. She then over corrected, investigators said, struck the guardrail, and the car flipped twice. One woman who was ejected during the accident died at the scene.
Also riding in the car were: Walter Snell, 17, of Tallasahsee who had no injuries; Sharonda L. Dorvilus, 18, of West Palm Beach, who suffered minor injuries; Jeffrey Roberts, 17, of Altoona, who suffered minor injuries; and Jerry Stewart, 17, also of Altoona, who suffered serious injuries.
Investigators said the crash was not alcohol related.
Florida Bus Accident: DUI suspected in van/bus collision; 2 hurt
Two people, including a high school student, were hospitalized after a collision between a school bus and van. The accident occurred on Tuesday, May 11, 2010 in Brownsville, Florida, according to information provided by the Pensacola News Journal.
Reports indicate an Escambia County school bus was taking Pine Forest High School students home when the bus-van wreck occurred.
A van, whose driver was unidentified, was reportedly traveling northbound on Green Street. The bus, whose driver was also unidentified, was traveling westbound on West Avery. At approximately 12:40 p.m., the van sideswiped the driver’s side of the school bus for unknown reasons.
According to 25-year-old Justin Warner, “I ran up there to see if anyone was hurt then called 911… People do at least 40 (mph) around this corner everyday; it’s dangerous.” Warner was apparently smoking a cigarette outside his home when he witnessed the accident.
Emergency medical services (EMS) teams arrived at the scene to rush a student and the bus driver’s assistant to Sacred Heart Hospital. The extent of their injuries was not immediately clear.
The driver of the van managed to escape injury in the crash but was subsequently arrested. Officials from the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) allegedly believed alcohol might have been a factor in the collision. It was not stated if the van driver was formally charged with DUI after the incident.
Panama City Beach FL Motorcycle Accident: 4 injured in weekend bike collision
Just after Florida Governor Charlie Crist deemed the month of May to be Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month, four people suffered serious injuries in a motorcycle collision. The bike crash occurred in Panama City Beach, Florida early Sunday, May 2, 2010.
Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) troopers reported a traffic accident involving two motorcycles occurred at approximately 12:30 a.m. Motorcycle driver David S. Cross, 38, was allegedly northbound on a roadway near Bonita Street when he attempted to pull into Thomas Drive. Unfortunately, he was unsuccessful in doing so. An eastbound motorcycle operated by Corey A. Thompson was traveling on Thomas Drive and consequently smashed into Cross’ northbound bike.
Emergency medical services (EMS) personnel were seemingly dispatched to the scene of the motorcycle wreck to rush the injured to area hospitals for treatment. Cross was taken to Bay Medical Center in serious condition. Thompson was also transported to Bay Medical Center but listed in critical condition. A passenger riding on Cross’ motorcycle, 24-year-old Laura Allen, suffered critical injuries and was taken to Gulf Coast Medical Center. Thompson’s bike passenger, 30-year-old Shawna Nicole Kelsey, was taken to Gulf Coast where she was listed in serious condition.
None of the motorcycle accident victims were wearing helmets at the time. Investigations into the injurious motorcycle collision are expected to be underway.
Bicyclist critical after North Fort Myers hit & run
A bicyclist was critically injured in a hit and run accident on Bayshore Road early Monday morning.
The Florida Highway Patrol is looking for the dark-colored pickup truck that struck 22-year-old David Mustonen around 1 a.m. near Glick Road.
Family members say Mustonen was on his way home from his job at Applebee’s when the accident happened.
“He texted me twice and called me on the phone to say happy Mother’s Day and he loved me,” said Mustonen’s mom, Sherri Helgerson.
Now, she says she’s on a mission to find out who hit her son.
“You hurt my kids, you hurt me and it’s on. That’s all I need to know. I will find out who did it eventually,” she said.
FHP says the truck was headed eastbound on Bayshore when it struck him.
While the driver didn’t bother to help, Mustonen’s aunt says his friend, Joel, immediately stopped after seeing the bike on the side of the road.
“He found him on the ground. David was trying to turn over and Joel just kept telling David, ‘Lay still,’ and David just kept telling him that he loved him,” said Shayni Cumbess.
Mustonen, the brother of six, is in critical condition at Lee Memorial Hospital, in a coma, with severe lung injuries and broken bones.
“He’s everything to my kids, he’s the hero, he’s the cool brother who plays the guitar. He’s the man,” said Helgerson.
“How can you leave a human being on the side of the road? It was Mother’s Day. How can you leave somebody’s child laying on the side of the road to die? That’s what they did is they left him to die,” Cumbess said.
Florida woman killed in single-car accident
One woman was killed and another injured in a single-vehicle crash near Ormond Beach, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
Sgt. Kim Montes said 69-year-old Frances Starost was driving a Ford pickup west on State Road 40 from Chesser Hammock Road just after 6 p.m. Monday. Starost suddenly drove left of center on the roadway and overcorrected the truck, Montes said.
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The front end of the truck rammed into a tree and the truck overturned, Montes said, ejecting Starost and her front-seat passenger, Lyudmyla Starost, 58, who died at the scene, Montes said. Frances Starost suffered serious injuries.
The women came from Summerfield in Marion County; neither was wearing a seat belt, according to an FHP report.
The crash remains under investigation and charges are pending, Montes said.
Flagler County deputy injured in crash
A Flagler County deputy received minor injuries after causing an accident in his marked patrol vehicle.
The Florida Highway Patrol reports that Deputy Tyrone S. Ray was responding to a disturbance call in Palm Bay Friday evening. As the deputy tried to make a right turn, his brakes reportedly failed to slow him down. The sport utility vehicle overturned once, slid onto a shoulder and came to rest upright.
FHP reports that Ray was wearing a seat belt. He was not cited for the crash.
Escambia County FL Accident: Pickup truck vs. motorcycle crash killed 1, hurt 1
A violent weekend motor vehicle collision (MVC) involving a motorcycle and pickup truck resulted in one fatality. The deadly accident occurred in Escambia County, Florida on Saturday, May 8, 2010, according to information provided by the Pensacola News Journal.
Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) authorities stated 28-year-old motorist, Timothy Freitas, was traveling westbound on Nine Mile Road when he attempted to make a left turn onto Scenic Highway. Upon doing so, his pickup truck drove into the path of an eastbound motorcycle. The pickup truck and motorcycle collided, ejecting 45-year-old motorcyclist Gary Warrington and his 34-year-old passenger Amber Bixler. Bixler reportedly landed in the bed on the truck after being thrown from the bike.
While emergency medical personnel responded to the scene to transport those injured to area hospitals, Warrington was killed in the motorcycle wreck. Bixler was taken to Sacred Heart Hospital in serious condition. Neither Warrington nor Bixler were wearing helmets at the time. Freitas did not suffer any injuries in the pickup truck-motorcycle crash.
It was not stated if any controlled substances and/or speed appeared to be factors in the collision. FHP troopers are expected to continue their investigation into the fatal motorcycle-involved accident.
Officer hits parked cars in attempt to stop red-light runner
A Holly Hill police corporal destroyed his cruiser and damaged property at two businesses early Wednesday after he tried to stop a motorist who sped through a red light on Ridgewood Avenue, Police Chief Mark Barker said.
Cpl. Rodney Erdman, a three-year veteran with the department, spotted a dark-colored sport utility vehicle speeding north on Ridgewood Avenue just after 1 a.m., Barker said. The officer tried to stop the vehicle after the driver blew through a red light at Ridgewood and Flomich Street.
But as Erdman followed the SUV the driver swerved somewhat, which prompted Erdman to take evasive action of his own, Barker said.
“He went across another lane and over the curb and his car struck two other cars at the All-Star Auto sales,” Barker said. “There was considerable damage to the cars and the patrol car was totaled.”
Erdman suffered cuts to his arm and abrasions from the exploding airbag in his vehicle, Barker said. He was treated and released from Halifax Health Medical Center in Daytona Beach.
Property at the used car lot and the neighboring lawyer’s office didn’t fare so well.
“They just left the debris from the damaged cars all over our lot,” said Michelle Gallas, a legal assistant in the law office of James Ledford, adding a new fence and plumbing was damaged at the office.
Rocco Picerno, owner of All-Star Auto, said he’s happy the officer wasn’t badly hurt but isn’t thrilled about the mess he was left to clean at his lot. He also questions what happened.
“We were just talking about this,” he said. “If you’re pulling someone over, you’re behind them. How does him swerving end up with officer ramming into (the cars).”
Barker speculated that Erdman was behind a short distance, but said the Florida Highway Patrol is investigating the crash. He said the city of Holly Hill’s insurance would cover the damages. FHP Sgt. Kim Montes said the crash information was unavailable Wednesday afternoon.
The chief said Erdman is a fine officer who was just presented the Crime Stoppers of Northeast Florida Spirit of Law Enforcement award and the American Legion named him officer of the year for apprehending a suspect who raped a young girl.
Barker said he believes the speeding motorist was later arrested in Ormond Beach, but he had no details on the arrest or the suspect’s name Wednesday.
“I’m not sure whether they were able to link him to this accident,” Barker said. “It was someone who matched the description.”
Barker said his department would wait to see the FHP report to determine if any other action is warranted.
