North Carolina Personal Injury Lawyer Blog

A tragic North Carolina Motorcycle accident has claimed the lives of a Burke County father and son. Steven Moody and his 19 year old son Kevin were killed when Amie Jo Skeen crossed the center line on Airport Rhodiss Road, hitting the motorcyclists head-on.

Skeen has been charged with Driving While Impaired and Felony Hit and Run. Investigating officers say that Skeen hit the side of one motorcycle and continued driving, and just seconds later, crashed head on into Moody's motorcycle, killing Moody and his son. The driver and passenger of the first motorcycle she hit were not seriously injured.

Investigation by North Carolina Highway Patrol found that after crashing head on into the Moody's, Skeen continued driving for another half mile before driving into a wooded location, presumably to hide the car. A witness foiled Skeen's attempt to evade police when he followed her, saw her park her car behind a building and then run into the woods. The witness alerted police to Skeen's location.

Upon her arrest, Skeen denied that she was driving and told a WSOC-TV reporter "I couldn't have been driving. I was too high." According to court documents, Skeen also claimed that "crackhead zombies" were driving her car.

Continue reading "Intoxicated Driver Takes The Life Of Father And Son Motorcyclists" »

Three separate North Carolina motorcycle accidents have claimed 4 lives this weekend. A fifth person remains in critical condition.

On Saturday night, 21 year old Sharaz Osman was killed when he crashed into a vehicle making a left turn. Just prior to the crash, Osman was seen overtaking other vehicles by passing them on the right in a right turn only lane, while traveling at an increased rate of speed.

Less than one hour later, Susan Fried was killed when she fell off the back of a motorcycle. The driver of that motorcycle, David Fries, was slowing for traffic in a construction zone when he lost control of the bike and hit a car, ejecting Susan Fries from the bike.

Two more people were killed on Sunday night in another motorcycle wreck. Motorcyclists Roger Carriker, with passenger Elizabeth Cross, was traveling south on US 29 when a car pulled out of a parking lot, striking the motorcycle, killing Carriker and Cross. The driver of the car, Dexter Jones, is in critical condition.

Continue reading "Deadly Weekend for North Carolina Motorcyclists" »

Our North Carolina car accident attorneys recently reported to you about a fatal accident involving a high speed motorcycle accident colliding with an SUV making a U-turn, Turns out the supposed driver of the SUV, Gloria Escobar, lied to police.

According to Matthews police, Escobar's husband, Alfredo Luna Morales, who is in the country illegally, was the real driver in the accident that killed motorcyclists Craig Anderson and his passenger, Tiffany Johnson.

Morales has been charged with Resisting a Public Officer by Obstructing or Delaying Investigation and No Operator's License. He is being held in Mecklenburg County Jail due to his immigration status.

Greensboro Police Officer Randy Ector suffered serious injuries Sunday when he was involved in a motorcycle accident and was struck by Glenda Brown. Ector was off-duty when he was riding his motorcycle in the right-of-way when Ms. Brown, driving an older model Pontiac, pulled from a side street into an intersection, striking Ector. Brown caused $9,500 damage to Ector's motorcycle, and $2,500 to her car. She was charged with Failure to Yield the Right Of Way.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 41% of the nearly 2,400 fatal accidents in 2008 involving a vehicle and a motorcycle occurred when the motorcycle was going straight in the right-of-way and the other vehicle was either turning left in front of the motorcycle, or passing the motorcycle.

All motorists have a duty to maintain a proper lookout and to yield the right of way. If you or a loved one has been seriously injured or killed in a motorcycle accident, call an experienced lawyer for a free consultation.

A motorcycle that police say was traveling at a high rate of speed crashed into an SUV Saturday, killing both the driver and passenger of the motorcycle, and seriously injuring the driver and passenger of the SUV.

According to Matthews Police, Gloria Escobar was making a left turn from Independence Boulevard into a parking lot when motorcyclist Craig Anderson, with passenger Tiffany Johnson, was traveling westbound on Independence Boulevard at a high rate of speed, and crashed into Escobar's vehicle. The force of the impact caused Escobar's SUV to overturn, trapping Escobar and her husband, Alfredo Morales, inside.

Police say that Anderson and Johnson were killed on impact, and that Escobar has been hospitalized and is in serious condition. Morales has also been hospitalized.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 35% of fatal motorcycle wrecks in 2008 involved speeding, compared to only 23% for passenger vehicles. NHTSA has also found that for every mile traveled in 2007, a motorcyclists was 37 times more likely to die in a crash than an occupant of a passenger vehicle, and 9 times more likely to be injured.

The motorcycle accident attorneys at Auger & Auger urge you to exercise caution while riding.

A seriously injured motorcycle accident victim in Charlotte, North Carolina succumbed to his injured and died a day following this tragic accident. Retired USCG Master Chief Petty Officer Lyle Atwood died a day after being hit while riding his motorcycle on East Independence Boulevard. According to police, traffic on East Independence was slowing due to a disabled vehicle. A sheriff's car was behind the disabled vehicle with its blue lights activated so as to alert drivers to slow down. As Amanda Augello tried to slow her vehicle, she swerved to the right, sideswiped Davenport on his motorcycle, and then overcorrect to the left, causing her SUV to flip.

The posted speed limit in that area is 55mph. Augello left 114 feet of skid marks in the roadway before striking Davenport, and then she traveled another 105 feet before coming to a final rest, upside down in her flipped SUV, indicating that speed may have been a factor. The accident remains under investigation by Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Major Crash Investigation Unit.

Augello has subsequently been charged with Misdemeanor Death by Vehicle.