North Carolina Highway Patrol troopers were called to the scene of a fatal motorcycle crash at around 12:20 p.m. on Sept. 11. The accident happened along Highway 68 in Oak Ridge near the Historic Old Mill. According to reports, the driver of a pickup truck rear-ended a motorcycle, killing the motorcycle driver and injuring the motorcycle passenger.
Shortly before the accident occurred, a 2002 GMC truck and a Harley Davidson motorcycle were both going south. When the 44-year-old motorcycle driver stopped to turn left onto Old Mill, the 21-year-old driver of the pickup truck failed to slow down and collided with the motorcycle. The driver died and the passenger was treated for serious injuries at Moses Cone Hospital. The pickup truck driver was uninjured.
Though the investigation is ongoing, reports indicate that the pickup truck driver is believed to be at fault for the accident. He was charged with death by motor vehicle. There was no evidence that alcohol impairment had anything to do with the crash. Drivers are usually tested for alcohol and drugs after they are involved in a fatal motor vehicle accident.
A lot of motorcycle crashes happen because passenger car drivers do not pay enough attention to the motorcyclists that they are sharing the road with. An injured motorcyclist who was struck by a vehicle might want to seek compensation for the losses that have been incurred by filing a personal injury lawsuit against the at-fault driver with the assistance of an attorney.
Source: FOX 8, “Motorcycle driver killed, passenger injured in Oak Ridge wreck,” Sept. 12, 2016