Pensacola.... Below is the article from the Pensacola News Journal this morning. If I'm not mistaken, the speed limit is 30 mph on that street. This woman is so blind that she couldn't see 3 BIG HOGS with headlights and running lights on (no flashers as in pursuit or responding to an emergency). Or....did she see them and feel like she had plenty of time to turn? The witness said the "The officers were HAULING". I wasn't there so I don't know how fast they were "hauling". I do know there have been accidents around here where bikes, mostly crotch rockets, were thought to have been going like 80 in a 45 (example) when someone pulled out in front of them. Closure rates? Cager distance perception? Speeding? All parts of the equation. My worst fear is someone either pulling out right in front of me or turning left at the point where I have zero time remaining to react. Looks like this is what happened here. It also appears in the photo that's in the paper that there is little damage to the bikes. They were able to at least slow down enough for the accident not to be a catastophe. 2 officers were launched off their bikes and the other fell over in-place with his. "Treated and released" is a very good outcome. What pisses me off is the typical MEDIA BIAS of usually trying to blame everyting on bikers and under-playing the cager who just doesn't see or care. Since these guys are police officers, the local paper treaded a little more lightly than usual. This paper is a rag who LOVES to criticise anyone who rides and assumes they MUST have done something wrong.
Quote
"Three motorcycle officers with the Pensacola Police Department were injured Wednesday afternoon in a crash in downtown Pensacola.
Officers Bryan Lowry, 29; Jud Fillingim, 31; and Brad Buddin, 33; were driving east on Gonzalez Street about 3:30 p.m. when they collided with a Lexus sedan driven by Samantha A. Cosmas Garske, 40, of Pensacola.
The officers were taken to Sacred Heart Hospital where they were treated and released. Cosmas Garske and her son, William Sterling Kerr V, 18, told police they were not injured.
Cosmas Garske was driving west on Gonzalez Street when she stopped and made a left turn onto Guillemard Street in front of the officers, Officer Mark Holmes said in a police report. The police department is investigating the crash.
"(The officers) were hauling," said Kelsie Hagan, 20, who witnessed the accident from Long Hollow Park at the intersection. "She had her blinker on to take a left and they ran right into her."
Hagan said she saw one officer clip the front of Cosmas Garske's car, causing the motorcycle and the officer to flip and land on the sidewalk near the intersection.
"I thought he was dead," Hagan said. "He didn't get up for a long time. It was like a scene out of a movie."
Motorcycles driven by Fillingim and Buddin struck the right front of the car while the one driven by Lowry struck the front of the car, according to the report. Fillingim and Lowry were thrown from their motorcycles; Buddin fell to the ground with his.
Cosmas Garske told an officer she did not see the motorcycles.
Chrissy Ringo, who lives near the accident scene, said she has asked the Public Works Department three times to make the intersection a four-way stop. There are stop signs only on Guillemard Street.
Al Garza, director of public works, said a traffic study showed Guillemard Street did not have enough traffic to justify additional signs."
I am very, very happy they are unhurt. Thoughts?
Quote
"Three motorcycle officers with the Pensacola Police Department were injured Wednesday afternoon in a crash in downtown Pensacola.
Officers Bryan Lowry, 29; Jud Fillingim, 31; and Brad Buddin, 33; were driving east on Gonzalez Street about 3:30 p.m. when they collided with a Lexus sedan driven by Samantha A. Cosmas Garske, 40, of Pensacola.
The officers were taken to Sacred Heart Hospital where they were treated and released. Cosmas Garske and her son, William Sterling Kerr V, 18, told police they were not injured.
Cosmas Garske was driving west on Gonzalez Street when she stopped and made a left turn onto Guillemard Street in front of the officers, Officer Mark Holmes said in a police report. The police department is investigating the crash.
"(The officers) were hauling," said Kelsie Hagan, 20, who witnessed the accident from Long Hollow Park at the intersection. "She had her blinker on to take a left and they ran right into her."
Hagan said she saw one officer clip the front of Cosmas Garske's car, causing the motorcycle and the officer to flip and land on the sidewalk near the intersection.
"I thought he was dead," Hagan said. "He didn't get up for a long time. It was like a scene out of a movie."
Motorcycles driven by Fillingim and Buddin struck the right front of the car while the one driven by Lowry struck the front of the car, according to the report. Fillingim and Lowry were thrown from their motorcycles; Buddin fell to the ground with his.
Cosmas Garske told an officer she did not see the motorcycles.
Chrissy Ringo, who lives near the accident scene, said she has asked the Public Works Department three times to make the intersection a four-way stop. There are stop signs only on Guillemard Street.
Al Garza, director of public works, said a traffic study showed Guillemard Street did not have enough traffic to justify additional signs."
I am very, very happy they are unhurt. Thoughts?
