Motorcycle vs. car; driver reportedly didn’t see motorcycle

St. George firefighters tend to the scene of a collision involving a car versus motorcycle on N. 3050 East Sunday afternoon, St. George, Utah, March 19, 2017 | Photo by Cody Blowers, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — A motorcycle rider with no helmet narrowly escaped serious injury after he was struck by a vehicle pulling out of a parking lot Sunday afternoon.

At approximately 2:30 p.m. officers and emergency personnel were dispatched to a crash involving a passenger vehicle and a motorcycle on N. 3050 East. Upon arrival, officers found a motorcycle lying in the middle of the center turning lane and a black Saturn four-door passenger car pulled off into a parking lot, St. George Police Officer Ronald Matik said.

Emergency personnel found the rider uninjured waiting near the bike.

After speaking with both drivers, officers determined that the woman driving the Saturn was making a left turn out of the Bishop’s Grille parking lot intent on traveling north on N. 3050 East.

Motorcycle is loaded onto a wrecker following a collision with a Saturn on N. 3050 East Sunday afternoon, St. George, Utah, March 19, 2017 | Photo by Cody Blowers, St. George News

Meanwhile, the man riding the motorcycle was heading south on N. 3050 East and was struck by the Saturn driver as she pulled out in front of him, Matik said.

“The woman said she just didn’t see him, ” he said.

The impact knocked the rider from the bike, but he sustained no serious injuries, Matik said, and the woman driving the Saturn reported no injuries.

The damage to the Saturn was minimal, and it was driven from the parking lot. However, the motorcycle sustained damage and was towed from the scene.

The St. George Police Department, the St. George Fire Department and Gold Cross Ambulance responded and tended to the scene.

Although he wasn’t wearing a helmet at the time of the crash, the rider – who preferred to remain anonymous – said he normally wears one when riding his motorcycle and that he won’t go on a ride without one again.

In 2015 there were 1,116 motorcycle crashes on Utah roadways that resulted in nearly 1,000 injured motorcyclists and 36 deaths. Sixty-one percent of the riders involved in crashes wore a helmet, according to data retrieved from Utah Department of Public Safety. Additionally, motorcycle crashes were nearly nine times more likely to result in a death than other crashes.

Nationally, 88,000 motorcyclists were injured and nearly 5,000 were killed while riding 8.6 million motorcycles on U.S. roadways, and 40 percent of those killed were not wearing helmets, according to information obtained from the Insurance Information Institute.

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3 Comments

  • [email protected] March 20, 2017 at 9:04 am

    Big motorcycle, likely with its headlight on, is not exactly stealthy.
    Let’s face it, the Saturn driver was likely not paying attention……

    Lucky outcome for the motorcyclist!

    Motorcyclists, and bicyclists, beware, we are unprotected “targets”.

  • mmsandie March 20, 2017 at 9:21 am

    Why can,t people be more careful, How do you not see a motorcycle, ???? It’s not a small thing unless the cycle driver was going too fast

  • Have3bratz March 20, 2017 at 8:52 pm

    Was she cited? I may have missed where it said she was, but I don’t think I did. Nope just read it for a third time! I guess if you say “I just didn’t see him” you don’t get a ticket! She should have been cited for failure to follow lane entrance making sure it was clear. Or failure to pay attention and obey proper lane change. You all of these tickets they give to people, why was she excluded? It wasn’t a medical condition. And its not a law to wear a helmet in the state of Utah so its not his fault. Which it should be a law to have to wear one! I can’t keep up with why people get tickets around here and when they do its usually for the dumbest reasons! Or when they should they dont like this one! SMFH!!!

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