Motorcycling has risks. Of course, so does driving a car. Unfortunately, when motorcycle accidents occur, the results are usually more catastrophic than the aftermath of a car crash. In most cases, those aboard any type of motorcycle that is involved in an accident will often suffer from severe injuries that can sometimes result in a potentially permanent disability. Sadly, this is true for two young men who were involved in an accident while riding a dirt bike.
According to police, the boys allegedly tried to overtake a police car that was involved in the accident. Upon doing so, the bike reportedly ricocheted into a double-parked car followed by the cop car, which also hit a parked car. The driver of the bike, a 20-year-old male, died a week after the accident, while his 17-year-old passenger survived but has been left paralyzed.
The accident occurred on Walton Avenue in the Bronx, and as it turns out, there were witnesses nearby who have spoken up about exactly what happened. Reportedly, the bike was not trying to overtake the cop car — but the cop car bumped the dirt bike from behind, causing the bike to twist and the passenger to fly off. The witness also reported that the bike then went down, and the cop car ran over the bike and the 20-year-old driver. This account is very different from the one that the New York Police Department put forward. Furthermore, it reportedly took the department an entire month to deliver the accident report after the paralyzed passenger’s family requested it.
According to an NYPD spokesperson, the accident is currently being investigated, but the cops involved in the accident are still on active duty.
Bikers are often thought of as reckless, and insurance companies will sometimes try to place the blame on the driver of a motorcycle. Of course, as may be the case with the above accident, the driver of the motorcycle may not be responsible, and the driver or the driver’s family may be entitled to compensation.
Source: New York Daily News, “NYPD cops dirt bike crash story, that left one rider dead and another badly injured, bogus: witness,” John Marzulli, Dec. 10, 2012