Florida man killed in Keys motorcycle accident

An accident in the Florida Keys claimed the life of a man on the evening of Dec. 6. The victim, a Summerland Key resident, was killed when another driver pulled out into his path. The 53-year-old man was driving north on U.S. 1 at the time.

Police say that the accident occurred near mile marker 9 at around 7:35 p.m. A 34-year-old resident of Key West attempted to turn left from Rockland Drive onto U.S. 1, drove her vehicle into the victim’s path and collided with the victim’s motorcycle. The victim’s motorcycle, a 2005 Yamaha Star, hit the front left portion of the 2001 Ford E-150 van the woman was driving at the time.

Authorities transported the man to Lower Keys Medical Center, but at 7:59 p.m. doctors pronounced the man dead. The driver of the van had previously been cited for driving without a license in 2005. The Florida Highway Patrol says that this death is the 17th traffic fatality on roads south of Florida City in the Keys.

In many motorcycle accidents like the one in this story, the driver of another vehicle doesn’t see a person approaching them on a motorcycle. If they don’t see the motorcycle, the driver may change lanes or pull in front of the motorcycle and leave the motorcyclist little to no time to slow down, change their path or otherwise avoid a collision. In many cases, the mistake causes catastrophic injuries or costs lives. The family of the victim in this story, and other accidents that are similar, may have the right to seek compensation, such as lost pay, medical bills and other damages that resulted from the accident.

Source: KeysInfoNet, “Summerland Key man dies in U.S. 1 motorcycle crash”, December 09, 2013