Punta Gorda Woman Killed in Truck Accident on US 17 in Charlotte County, FL
Charlotte County, FL -- March 8, 2023, a Punta Gorda woman was killed following an accident where a truck hit a motorcycle on US 17.
Investigators said the incident happened at around 7:20 a.m. at the intersection of US 17 and County Road 74/Bermont Road.
It appears that a woman was on a motorcycle stopped at a red light. A dump truck behind her apparently went forward after the light turned green, crashing into the motorcycle.
Due to the accident, the woman sustained fatal injuries. No other injuries were reported. Police have not given additional details about the accident.
To be rather blunt, things aren't adding up here. These details don't say that a truck failed to slow down, but rather that it accelerated from a stop into the motorcycle that was in front of it. How exactly would a truck driver not see a motorcyclist stopped in front of them?
Obviously, the size difference could make it difficult to see over the hood. But would a reasonably prudent driver pull up that close to a motorcyclist? Would they just assume that the motorcyclist was moving, or would they make sure they could see the rider going forward before they themselves begin to move?
Having seen countless commercial truck wrecks over 30 years, I know how important it is to consider there may have been extenuating circumstances here the truck driver couldn't avoid. But the reality is there are few situations, if any, I can recall where this sort of thing happened without the truck driver making a huge mistake. Are investigators working to find out if the same will prove true here, as well?
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