Accident & Injury Law in Texas

Posts Tagged ‘motorcycle’

A crash Sunday night near South Congress Avenue and Alpine Road left a motorcyclist dead.  He was recently identified as 53-year-old Donald Ingram Jr.

A 2005 Chevrolet pickup was pulling out of a private drive in the 3600 block of South Congress Avenue when it collided about 10 p.m. with the motorcycle being driven by Mr. Ingram who was going south on his Harley Davidson.

The Harley-Davidson motorcycle was traveling south and hit the driver’s side of the Chevrolet.

Mr. Ingram, who was not wearing a helmet, was taken to University Medical Center Brackenridge where he died. The truck’s driver was not injured.  Police said it is unclear whether alcohol or speed was involved in the accident.

This is Austin’s 26th traffic fatality of the year, according to authorities.

A woman died Sunday morning after she fell off the back of a motorcycle at Cameron Road and Cross Park Drive in Northeast Austin, police said.

The woman, who was not identified pending family notification, was taken to University Medical Center Brackenridge, where she later died, police said.

Daniel Ortega, 28, was driving the bike and fled the scene but was later found by police, officials said. He was detained, police said, but jail records showed that he had not been charged.

On Thursday, July 9, 2009, at 3 a.m. Kenneth Cottrell, a motorcyclist, was killed in a car accident.  Rudy Lucero was driving a Mazda and hit the motorcycle on  Road and 51st Street.  Cottrell was taken to Brackenridge where he later died.  Apparently, Lucero had been drinking as he was charged with intoxication manslaughter.  Any witnesses are to call 974-4761 with information.  This will be Austin’s 39th fatal accident in the year 2009.

A man who was involved in a motorcycle crash June 3 died last Tuesday of injuries he received in the crash.

Mitchell Frantz, 46, was riding a Harley-Davidson east on U.S. 290 near William Cannon Drive about 8:30 p.m. when he struck debris in the road and lost control of the bike, the statement said.  He was taken to University Medical Center Brackenridge, where he died.  There were no other injuries.

The incident remains under investigation – call 974-4761 if you have information.

A man in his 20s died early Sunday morning in a motorcycle accident near Lakeline Mall, according to police Sgt. James Mason.

Just before 3 a.m., Mason said, the man was riding without a helmet on Lakeline Boulevard near Ridgeline Boulevard when he lost control, his a curb and was thrown off the motorcycle.  A passer-by saw the motorcycle in the road and called police, he said.

The man’s identity had not been released Sunday pending notification of family members.

There were 95 traffic fatalities in Travis County in 2008, up slightly from 2007, according to’ law enforcement records.

On roads within the City of Austin, there  were 59 deaths last year.

Investigators saw a rise in motorcycle-related deaths, spurred by a summer of nearly $4-per-gallon gas, Austin police Detective Mark Breckenridge said.  “We had quite a few (fatalities) among new or inexperienced riders,” Breckenridge said.  “The high, gas prices put a lot of people on motorcycles.”

The number of motorcycle deaths rose from 15 in 2007 to 22 in 2008.

Eighteen of those were within Austin city limits, Breckenridge said. Six of those killed wore helmets, he said. Sixteen were drivers, and two were passengers.

The number of deaths of pedestrians and bicyclists declined. There were 25 pedestrians killed in 2007 and 18 in 2008. The number of bicyclists killed fell to one last year from two the year before.

The deadliest hour was between 2 and 3 a.m., when 17 of the fatalities occurred. In 2007, 12 fatal wrecks occurred during that hour.
Outside the city limits last year, there were 36 traffic deaths, up from 33 in 2007, according to Texas Department of Public Safety records.

Among them was a March double fatality on U.S. 290 East in Manor in which 18-year-old Jared Michael Blue and 41-year-old Andres Carrera were killed, In February, three teenagers — Audrey Ducote, 16, Lauren Hoffman, 17, and Randall Hibler, 16 — were killed in a wreck on Texas 71 in western Travis County near Bee Creek Road, the site of several crashes.

Round Rock police are asking for the public’s help in finding the driver of a car that hit and fatally wounded a motorcyclist last week.

The wreck occurred on September 25 at about 9:45 p.m. when the driver of a white Chevrolet Impala failed to yield the right of way while turning left in the 1700 block of North Mays Street.  Victor Luna was riding a Harley-Davidson, which hit the car’s right rear side when the car crossed his lane.  Mr. Luna, who was not wearing a helmet, was tossed over the car and landed on his head.  He was taken to University Medical Center at Brackenridge in Austin and died Sunday from his injuries.

Witnesses said that somehow the motorcycle ended up stuck to the front of the car, causing the driver of the Impala to swerve erratically to release it. The driver, who faces manslaughter charges, then took off down Boman Road at a high rate of speed.

The police are asking the public to consider whether such a vehicle may be known to them to frequent a particular area, but has been absent since Thursday’s incident; possibly garaged, covered, or otherwise concealed.

Anybody with information is asked to call the Round Rock Police Department at (512) 218-5500.