Category Archives: Motorcycle Accidents

Accident Survivors, Safety Advocates Implore Congress to Pass Bill Limiting Truck Size

Posted on May 15, 2013 by McGowan, Hood & Felder, LLC

Last April, Goose Creek resident Pina Arrington lost her husband Scott when a truck driver turned sharply to the right, crossed two lanes of traffic and slammed into the 44-year-old man while he was driving his motorcycle to work. According to the Goose Creek Patch, Pina was Scott’s common-law wife and they were supposed to get married nine days after he died. On May 7, Pina and other families of truck accident victims joined the Truck Safety Coalition in Washington DC to call on Congress to stop “dangerous and deadly” increases in the weight and size of commercial trucks. “What happened to my husband was not an accident,” Pina said. “The unacceptably high numbers of truck crash deaths like Scott’s are the result of bad actors in an industry choosing profit over safety, and adding more size and weight to trucks will only result in greater loss of life.” The…
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Man Charged With Leaving Scene of Fatal Accident in Greenville County

Posted on May 6, 2013 by McGowan, Hood & Felder, LLC

WBTW-TV reported that a 32-year-old man and his 12-year-old stepson were both killed after being thrown from their motorcycle in a hit and run crash on April 14. At a news conference two days later, the South Carolina Highway Patrol said the driver of the suspect vehicle, 54-year-old Gordon Owens, was arrested and charged with two counts of leaving the scene of an accident involving death. Investigators said the car that hit the motorcycle on Woodside Drive and 7th Street in Greenville County left the scene of the accident. The Greenville County Coroner’s Office said Robert Austin Blackstone died on the scene and his stepson died at the hospital. According to WBTW, the victims were not wearing helmets. South Carolina law requires all motorcycle operators and passengers under the age of 21 to wear motorcycle helmets, but the more outrageous crime in this case is the hit and run allegation….
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Pickens Man Dies in Motorcycle-Deer Collision

Posted on November 16, 2012 by McGowan, Hood & Felder, LLC

Last week, we discussed how State Farm Insurance ranked South Carolina 18th nationwide for the likelihood of a motorist being involved in a deer-vehicle collision. On November 1, a Pickens man was killed when he struck a deer while riding a motorcycle. According to WBTW-TV, Hayne Christopher Sheppard II was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident, which occurred as he was traveling west on Fox Squirrel Road. Investigators said that Sheppard died from blunt force injuries to his head. Sheppard was not wearing a helmet. As we told you in Wednesday’s blog, although South Carolina mandates that only motorcyclists under the age of 21 wear protective headgear, we recommend it for all riders. Two-thirds of motorcyclists involved in fatal accidents are not wearing helmets at the time of their accidents, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The South Carolina Department of Transportation reports that there…
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