Motorcyclist Community Faces More Tragedy
We’ve lost too many riders, and have lost one more, and my heart goes out to these folks and their families.
What I call “left in” and “left out” crashes are the most common hazards to riders.
Car and truck drivers just don’t look for riders, and they tend to turn left in front of bikes, and then later claim: “I never saw him.”
I don’t have all the facts, only what little the morning paper reports, but from 33 years of personally investigating and representing riders all across the state, I can be pretty certain that the driver was turning “left out” of the driveway, and the rider swerved to avoid the impact, but pays the ultimate price, as the car drives away unscathed.
“Look twice, save a life” could not be more true here.
The family needs to address all sorts of things beyond the obvious funeral arrangements and tending to Mrs. Hayward in the hospital. A prompt and thorough scene investigation, interviewing witnesses, and putting insurance companies on notice of the claim, especially Uninsured Motorist coverage in case the car driver did not remain at the scene. Of course, these are low on their priority list right now, which is why having someone take care of those issues for them while they do what only they can and must do is so important.
Just like Dr. Wade Shipman’s terrible bicycle crash and death the other day, life is terribly short. We don’t know what each day holds for any of us, so make every day, every hug, every kiss, and every “I love you” count, every time !
And, please be safe out there !
Springfield News Leader 07/06/2015, Page A03
Springfield man dies in motorcycle crash
HARRISON KEEGAN
HKEEGAN@NEWS-LEADER.COM
A Springfield man died in a motorcycle crash in Christian County on Sunday afternoon, according to a Missouri State Highway Patrol crash report.
Dennis L. Hayward, 61, died when his motorcycle skidded and overturned on Highway 125 two miles north of Linden at about 2:20 p.m., according to the report.
Hayward and his passenger were ejected from the 2009 Harley Davidson motorcycle.
Hayward was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead a short time later, the report says. Hayward’s passenger, 47-year-old Marissa Hayward was taken by helicopter to a Springfield hospital with serious injuries, according to the report.
The report says a vehicle was pulling out from a private drive near the motorcycle just before it skidded out, but that vehicle was not hit.