Accident Rt. 5 and 231

[kwillia]

The radio is saying a Freight Liner hit him after he went down

A station wagon in the other lane behind Despres, stopped in the roadway to avoid the crash scene. Behind that vehicle was Richard Michael Meyers (56, of Upper Marlboro) in a 2005 Freightliner Straight Truck. Not having seen the crash, Meyers swerved around the station wagon to avoid hitting it, but struck Despres as he lay on the roadway.

Fatal Crashes on Rts 5 & 224 - Southern Maryland News, Charles County, Calvert County and St. Mary's County News

 

[Giantone]

With the wind and Black ice we had in the AM why in God's name would you ride a bike today ,let alone at 5am?

 

[CableChick]

A station wagon in the other lane behind Despres, stopped in the roadway to avoid the crash scene. Behind that vehicle was Richard Michael Meyers (56, of Upper Marlboro) in a 2005 Freightliner Straight Truck. Not having seen the crash, Meyers swerved around the station wagon to avoid hitting it, but struck Despres as he lay on the roadway.

Fatal Crashes on Rts 5 & 224 - Southern Maryland News, Charles County, Calvert County and St. Mary's County News

Holy crap that's terrible!!!

 

[aps45819]

With the wind and Black ice we had in the AM why in God's name would you ride a bike today ,let alone at 5am?

Roads looked dry.
I considered it, but it since it rained yesterday and it was below freezing I opted for the car.
What difference does the time of day matter?
I assume you don't ride.

FYI: It's ALWAYS windy when you're on a bike.

 

[itsbob]

With the wind and Black ice we had in the AM why in God's name would you ride a bike today ,let alone at 5am?

I rode today.. no problems.. just shy of 50 miles all in all I think.

I understand the 5 AM concern.. black ice is invisible at night.. at least with the sun up you can see the glean of black ice on the road before you are acutally over it.

With the wind we had I really didn't think ice would be an issue.. the roads were all blow dried before the temps went down.. and as far as where I rode I was right!

Besides it wasn't the black ice that killed him.. he was probably fine after the fall..

I guess reflective gear does have a good use.. when you are no longer illuminated by the lights and reflectors on the bike.

 

[itsbob]

The radio is saying a Freight Liner hit him after he went down

I don't think they make riding gear for that..

 

[motomandan]

Accident

The person killed in this accident was very good friend of mine. He was a very experienced motorcyclist. Accidents can happen , but the driver of the freightliner that ran him over was not paying attention to what was going on in the roadway in front of him. If everyone would stop rushing everywhere and slow down and pay attention it would make the roadways a much safer place for us all. Ron was a great father, grandfather and a Vietnam veteran and to die this way is such a waste of a great man.

 

[itsbob]

The person killed in this accident was very good friend of mine. He was a very experienced motorcyclist. Accidents can happen , but the driver of the freightliner that ran him over was not paying attention to what was going on in the roadway in front of him. If everyone would stop rushing everywhere and slow down and pay attention it would make the roadways a much safer place for us all. Ron was a great father, grandfather and a Vietnam veteran and to die this way is such a waste of a great man.

Agreed..

Terrible situation all around.

 

[bcp]

prayers to the family and friends.

I dont understand how someone in a truck could not see over the car in front to know what was going on.

 

[aps45819]

prayers to the family and friends.

I dont understand how someone in a truck could not see over the car in front to know what was going on.

He was looking at the car in front of him instead of looking as far down the road as possible. A basic action that's taught in EVERY driving class I've taken.

Dan, please pass my condolences on to his family

 

[mommarock]

Prayers to the family. Very sad.

 

[OldHillcrestGuy]

I don't think any blame should be put on the truck driver, it was a unfortuate unavoidable accident. That time of the morning that road is quite busy I travel it just about everyday at that time of the morning. Its not a straight section of road it bends to the right then back to the left in the area of where the accident happened and it was dark out, its not all that well lighted. There is one guy who rides a bicycle along the shoulder of that road every morning at about 5:15am, you cant see him till you are right on top of him, Im really surprised he hasn't been hit.
When you think of a Freightliner truck, you may think of really big, this was a Freightliner box truck, not a tractor trailier.

 

[MMDad]

Im really surprised he hasn't been hit.

Yet. Give him time.

 

[kwillia]

I don't think any blame should be put on the truck driver, it was a unfortuate unavoidable accident. That time of the morning that road is quite busy I travel it just about everyday at that time of the morning. Its not a straight section of road it bends to the right then back to the left in the area of where the accident happened and it was dark out, its not all that well lighted. There is one guy who rides a bicycle along the shoulder of that road every morning at about 5:15am, you cant see him till you are right on top of him, Im really surprised he hasn't been hit.
When you think of a Freightliner truck, you may think of really big, this was a Freightliner box truck, not a tractor trailier.

I just saw several posts in a row that pre-judged the actions of the truck driver without taking into consideration the notion that he did the best he could to avoid a collision with the vehicle that just slammed on the brakes in front of him. From the news as reported, he did not cause the accident.

 

[motomandan]

I just saw several posts in a row that pre-judged the actions of the truck driver without taking into consideration the notion that he did the best he could to avoid a collision with the vehicle that just slammed on the brakes in front of him. From the news as reported, he did not cause the accident.

I am not quick to judge! I have been to the accident scene and the cars in front of the truck had time to stop. The truck left very little in the way of skid marks- most likely from not paying attention. All of the speculation in the world will not bring my friend back! You are right that truck did not cause the accident , but he made it a much worse accident.

 

[belvak]

What a terrible tragedy. I drive that stretch every day and would have been right there had I not been running about 5 minutes late this morning. I know for a fact that we ALL (with very few exceptions) drive too fast and follow too close all the way up Rt. 5. It is just the way it seems to be. If you try to leave a respectable distance between you and the car in front of you, one or two or more cars will cut in. Try to drive the speed limit and you have cars flying up on your bumper and almost hitting you. My very deepest sympathy go out to the deceased and his family as well as the driver of the truck.

 

[Dougstermd]

What a shame!!! A real sobering set of circumstances that added to a tragedy.

 

[Kain99]

The bypass is a dayum race track! I don't blame anyone for running over this poor guy. That could have been any of us. I came up on the scene about 15minutes after it happened. It is soooo dark up there.

 

[ptmcdonald]

The person killed in this accident was very good friend of mine. He was a very experienced motorcyclist. Accidents can happen , but the driver of the freightliner that ran him over was not paying attention to what was going on in the roadway in front of him. If everyone would stop rushing everywhere and slow down and pay attention it would make the roadways a much safer place for us all. Ron was a great father, grandfather and a Vietnam veteran and to die this way is such a waste of a great man.

Dan,

We likewise knew him well. My father always considered Ron to be his "third son", and you could not hope to meet a finer person in this life. This is such an awful tragedy I cannot wrap my mind around it, but the world is a lesser place for his passing.

Pat McDonald

 

[craberta]

My husband said that this man must have been a dedicated rider. He was probably smiling right before it happened. I almost started crying, so I started wrapping gifts, and wondering how the hell is his family going to survive this? Hubbs and I Love to ride. And hope we never get hurt, but we know it could happen.