A California police officer was injured while on his motorcycle June 3rd at a little before 2:00 p.m. The officer had just arrived to assist a pedestrian who had been injured. With the siren operating and emergency lights flashing and traffic in the area blocked-off, a pickup nevertheless struck the motorcyclist head-on
The female pedestrian was originally struck by an SUV while walking across the street. The police officer was riding his motorcycle then to respond to this accident when he was also struck. “He had a good tumble, and he’s banged up,” stated another police officer at the scene. The police officer was treated by paramedics and was said to have suffered an injured foot. The pedestrian, on the other hand, apparently suffered major injuries and was transported to the hospital.
We hesitate to say that the police office was fortunate because this is the type of motorcycle accident that should never happen. Still, the officer understandably could have been injured much more severely.
Traffic accidents can happen quickly and unexpectedly. Here we are dealing with two separate accidents that occurred only minutes apart. And though the police officer was responding to an emergency and a number of precautions were taken to secure the area, somehow a pickup truck managed to crash into the motorcycle.
Though these are not the only causes of motor vehicle accidents, carelessness and inattentiveness does play a factor in far too many crashes. As the consequences of motorcycle accidents are often catastrophic, victims and family members often turn to personal injury attorneys to seek recovery and discover their legal options. Nearly 350 motorcycle riders were killed on California roads in 2010. Another 10,000 riders were injured in our state during that same year. Steps need to be taken to reduce this number.
Source: KSBW, “Capitola motorcycle police officer injured in crash,” Amy Larson, June 3, 2014
