Noel Zapata Killed in Motorcycle Accident on Poteet Jourdanton Freeway in San Antonio, TX
UPDATE (July 5, 2022): The motorcyclist killed in this accident has been identified as Noel Angel Zapata.
San Antonio, TX — June 29, 2022, a 41-year-old motorcyclist died in a collision with a tractor-trailer on Poteet Jourdanton Freeway in South San Antonio.
According to reports the incident happened Wednesday morning at Poteet Jourdanton Freeway and Southwest Loop 410, near Palo Alto College. Preliminary investigation suggests a man riding a Kawasaki motorcycle may have tried to beat a red light at the intersection. An 18-wheeler turned left through the intersection in front of him; the rider laid the bike down in an unsuccessful effort to avoid it and became stuck beneath the truck's trailer.
The rider was dragged a short distance through the intersection before the truck came to a stop. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The investigation is ongoing. No further information is available at this time.
Commentary on Noel Zapata Accident in San Antonio
I often say there's no such thing as an open-and-shut crash. News reports may try to boil down a situation to a few sentences and some key details (like the victim allegedly trying to beat a changing light), but rarely is a wreck--particularly one with a commercial truck--that simple. I have no particular reason to doubt how the San Antonio crash was described, but at the same time it's clear not every possibility has been accounted for yet.
It's important to keep an open mind and properly investigate all the possibilities. Things really could boil down to something as simple as the victim running a light, but what if his brakes failed? Did he try to beat a changing yellow light, or was it solid red? How fast was the truck traveling at the time--did it keep moving after arriving at a steady green light, or did it stop at the intersection and then start forward? Could anything else have interfered with the victim's ability to stop?
I'm not trying to overcomplicate things here. My point is just that sometimes people get a little too eager to point fingers without first considering the whole picture. Only careful accident reconstruction could really say what happened. Making sure the investigators in charge have the experience and equipment to consider all the possibilities, even less-likely ones, is crucial for ensuring the truth is found and the victim's loved ones get some real answers.
