Michelle Obama/Motorcyclist Crash

[wonder91178]

I like how it says the car was hit by the motorcyclist as the car attempted to turn left. I wonder if the car turned left in front of the motorcycle? Hmmm.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21218145/

I'm just sayin'....

[scar04]

the CNN article made it sound like the rider passed on the right and hit the Left side.

[JoyRider]

watched the video and a reporter that witnesses the accident said the motorcycle was passing on the left, (looks like 2 lane road in the video) and the driver of the van may not have seen the motorcycle trying to pass. The reporter said a friend was riding with the one that got hit and told him he was not sure why the motorcycliest was trying to pass that many cars....

sounds like the down rider is already out of the hospital and may have a ticket for his troubles :giveup:

[buck000]

I love the wording in this article (http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=18899930&BRD=1980&PAG=461&dept_id=177415&rfi=6). Sounds like a spin doctor was ensuring the initial report was as vague as possible. :shrug:

[JoyRider]

Good grief! They make is sound like she was not even involved :giveup:

and that it was a bloody messy crash.

[Rman of 237]

"The vehicle was hit by the motorcycle as it attempted a left turn just south of Hampton...." Blah Blah.....:yawn:

Spin you call it...?

[KenH]

"The vehicle was hit by the motorcycle as it attempted a left turn just south of Hampton, ...."

Uh, which "it" was turning left? Vague is an understatement. Does someone have something to hide?

[kurt]

Sounds like the rider's fault to me.

Michelle Obama, the wife of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, escaped injury Tuesday when her campaign van was involved in an accident in Hampton, Iowa. A motorcyclist who struck the van was injured.

The accident happened as she was en route to a campaign stop. A motorcycle collided with the van on U.S. Highway 65 in the central part of the state.

The Obama campaign said in a statement, "The motorcyclist was transported to a nearby hospital, and Barack and Michelle's thoughts and prayers are with him and his family at this time. Neither Mrs. Obama nor any members of the campaign staff were injured in the accident."

Police identified the motorcyclist as Timothy Scott Emerson, 41, of Iowa Falls, Iowa. He was taken by medical helicopter to Mercy Medical North Hospital, where a nursing supervisor said he was treated and released.

A report from the Hampton Police Department said the van carrying Michelle Obama was trying to make a left turn when it was struck. The motorcycle, which was three vehicles behind the campaign van, attempted to pass and struck the left side of the van, the report said, while traveling on the wrong side of the road.
The campaign event she was headed to was canceled.

[KenH]

"The vehicle was hit by the motorcycle as it attempted a left turn just south of Hampton, ...."

Uh, which "it" was turning left? Vague is an understatement. Does someone have something to hide?

I reckon not.

[ulric]

"The vehicle was hit by the motorcycle as it attempted a left turn just south of Hampton, ...."

Uh, which "it" was turning left? Vague is an understatement. Does someone have something to hide?


Come on, is it REALLY that hard to understand the statment?

[sarge33rd]

sounds to me, like there was a line of a few vehicles behind the left turning van carrying Mrs Obama. The rider then tried to overtake this line, subsequently colliding with the van as it tried to execute the left turn.

Seems to me, the rider is at fault.

Re the wording in the Hampton papers article (linked above)...small town paper, big news, small town mentality....gotta play it up.

[Tim Kreitz]

And of course they always have to use sensationalized language:

"...the wife of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, escaped injury Tuesday..."

Yes, she was being chased by a dragon just as the accident occurred. Luckily, the collision frightened the mythical beast away.

:doh:

[P-Ratt]

They don't specify whether the rider chose to pass in a no-passing zone or if the vehicles had any kind of turn signal used for their turn. They only said that the rider chose to pass at an inopportune moment.

I know I'd want to pass slower moving traffic on a two-lane road.

[Steep]

They don't specify whether the rider chose to pass in a no-passing zone or if the vehicles had any kind of turn signal used for their turn. They only said that the rider chose to pass at an inopportune moment.

I know I'd want to pass slower moving traffic on a two-lane road.

If the van was turning left onto another road (i.e. intersection), odds are that it was a no passing zone. If the van had a blinker on, the moto rider would have had a hard time seeing it if there were other cars between him and the van.

Now, assuming it was a passing zone and the van did not have a blinker on, it was still a bad decision to pass considering all factors. Anyone passing a group of vehicles through an intersection is asking for it.

Steep

[Brotha J]

I liked the way they threw around the phrase that the folks in the car "escaped injury".
How often does a motorcycle win that type of confrontation?

And why isn't the motorcyclist that main concern?

[kurt]

Being hit by a motorcycle doesn't prevent the occupants of a van from being injured. It almost guarantees neck and back pain, especially if the motorcyclist has insurance. :mrgreen:

[Manfred]

Regarding left turns: In Germany, vehicles making left turns have to yield to overtaking cars, clearing traffic behind them before turning left. Many GIs and wives lost life and limb over the years by failing to learn this rule, which is different from what we have in this country.

[Texfire]

Being hit by a motorcycle doesn't prevent the occupants of a van from being injured. It almost guarantees neck and back pain, especially if the motorcyclist has insurance. :mrgreen:

:lol2:

[P-Ratt]

If the van had a blinker on, the moto rider would have had a hard time seeing it if there were other cars between him and the van.If I am in the passing lane then I am at an angle to all the cars and should have easy sight of all blinkers in the line.