James “Jimmy” Morrison (The Daily Pennsylvanian, 9-03-13) was riding his motorcycle in Culpeper, Virginia (VA) when his life came to an abrupt and tragic end. The operator of a 2008 Ford pickup truck swerved into Mr. Morrison’s lane forcing him to drive off the road. Mr. Morrison was taken to a Virginia hospital where he died due to the severity of his injuries. He was only 47 years old.
Mr. Morrison was driving his Harley motorcycle as part of an annual ride in Culpeper with the Blue Knights, a law enforcement charity organization, according to the Daily Pennsylvanian news report.
Our deepest condolences go out to the Morrison family. The news reports indicate that Mr. Morrison’s wife and son were on the road trip with him in Culpeper. Fortunately, they were reportedly by his side in the hospital. Though, it still must be infuriating to think that this terrible accident may have been avoided if the driver of the pickup truck actually kept control of his own vehicle.
Mr. Morrison leaves behind an impressive record of accomplishment. He was the head of the Pennsylvania chapter of the Blue Knights, worked for the Division of Public Safety at Penn, also worked for the Philadelphia Housing Authority, and over the past decade, was deployed on many combat missions as a member of the Armed Forces.
Unfortunately, many accidents involving motorcyclists result in serious injury or wrongful death. The sad fact is that when the operator of a car, truck, or SUV loses control or does some other negligent act and hits a motor bike rider, the rider usually bears the brunt of the damage. This is primarily due to the weight differential and level of protection available to both parties. In 2012 alone, there were 2,416 motorcycle accidents in Virginia and 78 people lost their lives in those accidents, according to the Virginia DMV. Here is a link to the data:
http://www.dmv.state.va.us/safety/crash_data/motorcycle/pdf/crash_juris.pdf