Separate Accidents, Similar Circumstances

It seems every day brings another report of a motorcycle-related accident in my area. Readers of this blog know that I generally don’t post about specific accidents unless the circumstances are notable in some way. Most of the time, the accident reports speak for themselves.

Yesterday, however, there were two accident reports that were so similar I thought they were talking about the same incident. They weren’t.

Southeast Amissiger Road near Boring is expected to reopen to traffic by 1:30 p.m., after accident technicians examine the scene of a fatal crash between a motorcycle and a van.

The motorcycle driver was killed in the crash, which occurred at 9:28 a.m., said Detective Jim Strovink, Clackamas County sheriff’s spokesman. However, the circumstances that led to the crash were not yet available.

Strovink said sheriff’s deputies were working with the county’s Crash Reconstruction and Forensics Technicians Team — or CRAFT — to investigate the crash.

Strovink said the name of the driver will not be released until his family is notified.

The article was later updated with the following, bold emphasis mine:

Eric C. Delf, 39, of Boring died about 9:25 a.m. Monday when his motorcycle attempted to pass several vehicles and collided with a van turning left in the 18300 block of Southeast Amisigger Road in Boring, the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office reported. The van driver was identified as Richard G. Mather Jr., 59, of Portland. No citation was issued.

Here’s the second article, again, bold emphasis mine:

A 22-year-old Vancouver man remains in critical condition this morning after he struck a car while performing a stunt on his motorcycle.

Police said Alec Thomale was traveling at high speed north on Northwest Erwin O. Rieger Memorial Highway just after 3 p.m. when he struck a northbound car driven by Miguel Martinez Mariscal, 20, also of Vancouver.

Police said Thomale was performing a wheelie on his 1,000 cc motorcycle when Martinez turned left and Thomale crashed into his car. Witnesses told police it appeared Thomale was going to pass the car on the left when Martinez turned left.

Thomale was thrown from the motorcycle, which crashed into a parked car, heavily damaging the car. He was taken by LifeFlight helicopter to Legacy Emanuel Hospital.

Martinez, who left the scene of the crash, later told police he left because he was being threatened by bystanders; he is cooperating with the investigation and was released after questioning.

The crash remains under investigation.

I guess these do speak for themselves after all. I’ll certainly keep them in mind the next time slow traffic makes me an impatient rider.

Tagged as: Motorcycling