AMARILLO, TX (03/09/2017) — Amarillo police have identified 55-year-old David Wilkerson as the victim of a car-vs-motorcycle crash which occurred at the intersection of Elmhurst Road and South Coulter Street in southwest Amarillo, Texas.
Police say that at around 6:45 p.m. on Thursday, the driver of a blue 2005 GMC Yukon SUV—traveling northbound on Couler—made a left turn at Elmhurst and collided with Wilkerson’s 2014 Harley Davidson motorcycle, which was traveling southbound on Coulter.
Wilkerson was transported to an area hospital, but later died due to injuries suffered in the collision. The driver of the Yukon was not injured in the accident.
No charges have been filed as of yet, but the accident is still under the investigation by the Amarillo Police Department.
Commentary
Tragically, we see this exact scenario on almost a daily basis here in Texas. While we don’t know exactly what led to this particular accident as details are still very limited, the fact pattern suggests that the collision could have been the result of a failure to yield. Left turns at this intersection require that you cross opposing lanes of traffic, and unless the SUV had a protected green arrow (giving the motorcyclist a red light), this unfortunate accident may have been entirely preventable.
Contrary to what some might think, the majority (~66%) of fatal car-vs-motorcycle accidents are actually due to negligence on behalf of the automobile driver. In fact, of all car-vs-motorcycle accidents, about 40% occur when cars are making left-hand turns.
Again, we will not know the true cause of this accident until after the investigation has been completed, but we would like to take this opportunity to remind drivers to always look twice for motorcyclists.
