The Orlando Sentinel is reporting the tragic deaths of two Sanford residents in a senseless accident that occurred on Interstate 4 early Sunday morning outside of Deland.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, a man and woman from Sanford were headed away from the Daytona Beach area on I-4 when their motorcycle was reportedly struck from behind by a Ford Explorer. The collision caused the motorcycle to overturn, throwing both riders off of the bike. In what must have been a horrifying scene, each of the motorcyclists was run over by the vehicle also traveling westbound on I-4. For whatever reason, the Ford Explorer fled the scene of the crash and disappeared.
Apparently, the Explorer was found later in Sanford, and a person of interest was taken into custody.
My heart certainly goes out to the families of both motorcyclists. As an Orlando accident attorney who regularly handles motorcycle accident cases, I have seen far too many motorcycle-related tragedies like this one. The hit-and-run character of this one probably makes it worse.
Because the Explorer driver left the scene of a crash where people were obviously very seriously injured, my first suspicion is that the driver may have been impaired by drugs or alcohol and was afraid to get into trouble. My second suspicion/fear is that the driver left the scene because he or she did not carry insurance and did not want to be personally responsible for the serious damages he or she caused. Either way, leaving the scene of a crash with serious injuries or deaths means the Explorer driver is headed for serious problems.
I believe that families involved in cases like this deserve closure and justice. This is why I am keeping my fingers crossed that the motorcyclists carried Uninsured/Underinsured motorcyclist coverage. I recently recorded a short video about valuable motorcycle insurance:
For answers to questions about your rights after a motorcycle accident, call Winter Park personal injury lawyer Kim Cullen at 407-644-4444. There is no charge and no commitment to call and ask questions.
