RIP Biker Girl... :l:


GREENCASTLE, PA - A motorcyclist was killed in Greencastle a dump truck backed over her.

Pennsylvania State Police say Vickie Morrison of Greencastle died after being trapped under the rear wheels of the truck.
The accident happened along Commerce Avenue around 7:30 a.m. Police say Clifford Sims of Martinsburg was driving the truck. He told police he missed the entrance to a construction site, and was backing up when the accident happened. He says he checked both of his rear view mirrors, and did not see Morrison who was directly behind him.
Police have not yet filed any charges against the driver, who was not injured in the accident.



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I say its the truck drivers fault for backing up on a roadway without making sure there was nothing behind him. I bet he never backs up again without making sure nothing is there. This happened not too far from where i work and we got into a debate over it.. some say it was the girls fault for being to close. I say if the truck stopped abruptly and backed up right away there was no way she could have got out of his way.. i think i would have tried to maybe jump off the bike and let it get crushed.. unfortunately we'll never know if she actually tried that or not..

 

It was both parties fault. The truck driver shouldn't have backed up if he wasn't sure there was nothing behind him, but she should have stopped where he could see her in her rear view mirror (I'm assuming she didn't).

I read something on one of the forums a few months ago and now I always stop far enough back to get out of the way if they do something stupid and to the left hand side of the car so in the unlikely event the ***-hole looks before they back up, they'll see me.

 

She was behind a truck and probably all she could see was the truck and it's tail lights. The truck stopped so she stopped also, not being able to see why the truck stopped and probably assumed there was traffic or something. She was waiting for the truck to resume forward motion and did not expect it to back up. Obviously she did not have time to get out of the way. I say it's the truck drivers fault. She might have been able to avoid the whole thing by stopping further back or riding far enough to the side that she could see the trucks mirrors. I never like to follow a rig that I can't see around.

 

We had a similar story here a few years ago when a garbage truck backed over a bicyclist. It's hard to put blame on the rider in this case based on the article. Seems like the truck driver should not have been backing up. If he had a turn signal on as he came to a stop the rider may have been expecting him to turn and got too close when he didn't. I definitely would have dropped the bike if possible. Who knows... either way it is a tragic event. RIP

 

Seems to me that when I took my CDL test the driver is supposed to get out and walk around the truck prior to backing up.

 

Without knowing everything, it's hard to pin the fault on anyone. From the OP's description of events, here's how I think it might have occurred:
- truck driver realizes he missed the turn and stops abruptly without looking in his mirrors
- motorcylclist comes to a stop close to the back of the truck because of the sudden, unexpected stop
- truck driver looks in his mirrors, doesn't see anything, and begins backing up
- motorcyclist panics, freezes, and is run over

Did the truck have a functioning back-up alarm?
Was there traffic in other lanes that prevented the motorcyclist from a sideways escape?
Did the motorcyclist scream and yell and lean on the horn to try and notify the truck driver?
Could the truck driver have heard screaming and a horn? (ie: windows rolled up, music blaring, etc.)

This is a sad story, and my condolences go to the motorcyclist's family and friends.

 

the road that they were on is heavy truck traffic with multiple entrances.. there was no reason for him to back up when he could have just went down to another biz or "yard" to turn around..


i talked with someone who talked to a person who was on the scene and they said it wasn't a pretty sight.. the asshats on the local news at noon said a motorcyclist collided with a dump truck..

just on the evening news and they say no charges will be filed.. i can see a wrongful death suit coming out of this..

 

Thank you!!!! A truck driver is responsible to make sure that nothing is behind his vehicle before backing up. If he strikes anything, it is his fault. Period.

 

Boy, what a tragedy.

I'm going with it was both of there faults. Primary fault is on the driver of the truck obviously. But, the bike rider was too close behind him at a stop. At least in my opinion. These dump trucks just do not back up all that fast and if she didn't have time to abandon her bike and get out of the way...she was way to close.

 

Is that the same "bikergrl" that is a forum member?