Two people were killed after their motorcycle collided with a truck in Westminster on Monday night.
The accident happened just after 9 p.m. on Edwards St. and Oak Dr., near the Westminster Mall. The male driver of a 2001 Ducate motorcycle was northbound on Edwards St. He had a female passenger. An asphalt truck that was leaving All American Asphalt, located at 14490 Edwards St., turned left in front of the motorcycle to go south on Edwards.
The motorcycle slammed into the truck. The motorcycle's driver and passenger, both 31-years-old, were thrown from the bike. The female was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident. The male was transported to UCI Medical Center and pronounced dead a short time later.
The driver of the asphalt truck was not injured. He remained at the scene and cooperated with investigators.
The Westminster Police Department has not yet released information on which party was at fault for the collision. The motorcyclist would have had the right-of-way. Based on the information presently available, it appears that the truck driver violated California Vehicle Code Section 21801(a), which states:
"(a) The driver of a vehicle intending to turn to the left or to complete a U-turn upon a highway, or to turn left into public or private property, or an alley, shall yield the right-of-way to all vehicles approaching from the opposite direction which are close enough to constitute a hazard at any time during the turning movement, and shall continue to yield the right-of-way to the approaching vehicles until the left turn or U-turn can be made with reasonable safety."
To mitigate his responsibility for the collision, the truck driver will likely argue that the motorcyclist was speeding. Whether or not the motorcyclist's speed was a cause of the crash is under investigation by the police department.
In this case, the motorcyclist's speed will likely be an important and contested issue. Both sides will need to hire an accident reconstruction expert to determine the speed of the motorcyclist. It is possible that video surveillance cameras captured the accident. Family members of the decedents should immediately demand that any video surveillance footage of the accident be preserved.
McGee, Lerer & Assciates is a Long Beach personal injury law firm that specializes in serious injury and wrongful death cases. We have extensive experience representing motorycle accident and truck accident victims and their familes. We are a husband and wife team of accident attorneys with almost 40 years of combined experience, and are available 24/7 for a free consultation.