Personal Injury Law

Missouri man killed after motorcycle accident

By Ryan Bradley, Esq.

Larry Winch, 59, was killed in a St. Francois County motorcycle accident when he collided with a car on Route D Sunday afternoon.

Winch was riding his 1999 Yamaha XVS1100 southbound on Route D at the time of the wreck, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol. At the same time, Cynthia Streiler, 51, was driving a 1995 Subaru Impreza northbound on Route D. As both vehicles approached the intersection with Route O, Streiler attempted to make a left turn. She failed to yield to the oncoming motorcyclist and pulled directly into Winch's path.

Winch was unable to avoid a collision and hit the side of Streiler's vehicle. The force of the impact threw him from his bike and totaled both vehicles.

Winch was pronounced dead on the scene. Despite the extensive damage to her vehicle, Streiler was uninjured in this Missouri motorcycle crash, according to the initial crash report.

Our thoughts are with the families of the two involved in this terrible incident.

One of the most common causes of motorcycle accidents is other drivers not seeing the smaller motorcyclist and pulling into their path or merging into their lane. Motorcycles, because of their size, are more easily concealed in blind spots and behind other vehicles.

Another problem is a sort of optical illusion that is produced when looking at a motorcycle as compared to a car. When viewing an oncoming motorcycle, the narrower frame and single headlight plays tricks on our depth perception, especially when we are used to only looking at cars, and may make it harder to perceive the vehicle's speed.

Drivers have the responsibility to know what other vehicles are on the road around them, big or small, and use excessive caution when navigating around motorcycles.

Full post as published by Missouri Accident Lawyer Blog on October 17, 2010 (boomark / email).