By: Russell Keener  —  August 12, 2011
 

On August 5^th, 2011 a 23 year old Atlanta man lost his life after a car pulled in front of his oncom­ing motor­cy­cle.  While motor­cy­cles rid­ers are some­times at fault, in this case (as in most cases involv­ing a car and a motor­cy­cle) the man dri­ving the car was cited by the police for being at fault.  Police sus­pect that the dri­ver of the car was dri­ving under the influ­ence when the crash occurred.  As motor­cy­cle rid­ers and motor­cy­cle acci­dent lawyers, we at The Keener Law Firm real­ize the impact that a large vehi­cle can have on a much smaller motorcycle.

Accord­ing to the police, Joshua Michael Mosley was dri­ving a Pon­tiac G6 when he turned in front of  the path of the motor­cy­cle, which struck the car and killed the motor­cy­cle rider, Patrick Sebas­t­ian Smith.  The acci­dent took place in Pauld­ing County.  Mosley had two pas­sen­gers in the car with him at the time of the acci­dent.  Mosley was charged with fail­ure to yield right of way, hav­ing an open con­tainer, dri­ving under the influ­ence and vehic­u­lar homicide.

Accord­ing to the Geor­gia State Patrol, the acci­dent took place late at night.  Mosley, the dri­ver of the car, stated that he did not see the motor­cy­cle com­ing when he turned in front of the motorcycle’s path.

While motorist’s often feel they have the right of way over motor­cy­cles, that is sim­ply not true.  A car and a motor­cy­cle have equal rights, duties,  and respon­si­bil­i­ties on the road.   Unfor­tu­nately, the rider of a motor­cy­cle is at a greater risk of fatal or seri­ous injuries since they are not pro­tected from the impact as is a dri­ver inside of a car.  This is obvi­ously a dev­as­tat­ing blow to the fam­ily of the motor­cy­clist and a clear rea­son why it is unwise and ille­gal to drink and drive.

Even when a motor­cy­clist does not lose his life, severe injuries often result.  Brain, spine, and inter­nal injuries are com­mon with motor­cy­cle acci­dents.  Pro­tec­tive gear should always be worn on a motor­cy­cle, but even that can­not pre­vent cat­a­strophic injuries when a motor­cy­cle col­lides with a car or truck.

As Atlanta motor­cy­cle rid­ers and acci­dent attor­neys, our goal is to ensure that the rights of the injured and the fam­i­lies of those who lose their lives in acci­dents are pro­tected.  If you or a  loved one has been injured in a motor­cy­cle acci­dent, con­tact us today for a free, con­fi­den­tial, no-hassle consultation.