MAY 12, 2015
WALL, NEW JERSEY
A man was killed Monday night after his 2007 Harley Davidson
motorcycle collided with two vehicles near a construction zone on the Garden
State Parkway, State Police said.
Matthew Hockenbury, 40, of Elizabeth was pronounced dead at
the scene of the southbound-side crash near mile marker 98, Sgt. First Class
Gregory Williams said. No one else was reported injured.
A preliminary investigation suggests that a 2000
International construction truck pulled into traffic from the center median,
Williams said. The motorcycle struck the back of the truck. The impact
"disabled the driver," he added.
A Toyota Sienna then hit the motorcycle in the left lane,
Sgt. Jeff Flynn told the Asbury Park Press. He said he could not provide the
names of the Sienna and truck drivers, citing technical issues barring him from
the full accident report.
The crash occurred near a construction zone that lies
between exits 91 and 98, where the lanes narrow and the speed limit drops to 45
miles per hour. It is unclear at this time whether speed or any traffic
violations were factors.
State Police, the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office, Wall
Township EMS and other emergency personnel responded to the scene, Williams
said. Hockenbury's body was taken to CentraState Hospital in Freehold.
According to his Facebook page, Hockenbury went to Elizabeth
High School. Friends expressed their condolences on his page.
"I can't believe you're gone," wrote one Facebook
friend, Debbie Reed. "There are no words to describe how we are feeling
right now. Rest in the sweetest paradise Matty."
Another friend named Mickey Milovanovich wrote on Facebook:
"you were always good to me...I will miss you more than you know."
Hockenbury's mother was not available for comment. His
sister, Michelle Hockenbury Benitez, said "Matthew was a great son,
brother and father."
State Police continue to investigate the crash. They took the
construction truck to the Herbertsville Station's commercial vehicle inspection.
No charges have been filed as of Tuesday, according to State Police.
Source:app.com
Speeding, aggressive driving, tail gating, lane changes for
no reason, pass on the left to make a quick right turn, no signals or late
signaling, weaving through traffic, driving while impaired, driving while tired
or sleepy, are just few of the traits of bad drivers. The end result is always death or injury or a
very close call.
Motorcycles are less stable and less visible than cars and
often have high performance capabilities. When motorcycles crash, their riders
lack the protection of an enclosed vehicle, so they're more likely to be
injured or killed.
The federal government estimates that per mile traveled in
2012, the number of deaths on motorcycles was over 26 times the number in cars.
There are Sanzari construction vehicles everywhere on the
Turnpike and GSP. I've seen those construction vehicle drivers just pull
out of the median into a travel lane, thinking I guess that traffic will slow
down for them ? Many times they don't even attempt to build up a little
speed on the shoulder before merging into a travel lane. That said,
whether in a car or on a bike, when I see one of these construction vehicles
that is either near the shoulder or on the shoulder, I merge away from it.
http://metroforensics.blogspot.com/2015/03/united-states-still-has-one-of-highest.html
SINCE 9/11/2001, WE
HAVE LOST VERY FEW PEOPLE TO TERRORIST ACTS.
BUT WE LOST 500,000 PEOPLE ON THE DEADLY ROADS. AN ADDITIONAL 5 MILLION HAVE BEEN INJURED. OUR PRIORITIES ARE CLEARLY MISPLACED
UNITED STATES STILL HAS ONE OF THE HIGHEST ROAD ACCIDENT
DEATH AND INJURY RATES IN THE WORLD: 34,000 DIE AND 2.5 MILLION INJURED EACH
YEAR.
Despite the improvements in road safety, the United States
has one of the highest death rates at about 1 person dead per 10,000 people. Unfortunately,
only undeveloped countries have higher death rate.
Since 9/11/2001, we have lost very few people to terrorist
acts. But we lost 500,000 people on the
deadly roads. An additional 5 million
have been injured. Our spending priorities
are clearly misplaced. Investment in our
road infrastructure is what is needed, as the economic toll from all these
deaths and injuries and property damage has suffocated our economy.
Thus far this year alone, we have lost 12,000 people and an
additional 130,000 people have been injured.
Some states, such as Texas and West Virginia (sorry, WV,
despite your tremendous progress in traffic safety, you are still at the top of
the worst-death-rate list) have death rates of nearly 1.5 percent, i.e., fifty
percent more people die compared to the national death rate.
Approximately 34,000 people are getting killed each
year. In the 1950s and 1960s, about 55,000 people used to die on the
roads – so, there has been improvement in the number of dead.
However, the number of injured is rising. Roughly 2.5
million are injured (yes, you read it correctly – 2.5 million injured) per
year. That is, 1 percent (1%) of the population that is eligible to drive
is injured every year.
Speeding, aggressive driving, tail gating, lane changes for
no reason, pass on the left to make a quick right turn, no signals or late
signaling, weaving through traffic, driving while impaired, driving while tired
or sleepy, are just few of the traits of bad drivers. The end result is always death or injury or a
very close call.
There has been an increase of the number of deaths and
injuries to pedestrians, cyclists, mopeds, and motorcyclists. Motorcycles are less stable and less visible
than cars and often have high performance capabilities. When motorcycles crash,
their riders lack the protection of an enclosed vehicle, so they're more likely
to be injured or killed. The federal government estimates that per mile
traveled in 2012, the number of deaths on motorcycles was over 26 times the
number in cars.
It is worse than a war zone out there.
So, please be safe and be on the lookout for aggressive
drivers, weaving-through-the-traffic drivers, crazy drivers, reckless drivers,
sick drivers, medical-condition drivers, sleepy drivers, negligent drivers,
stupid drivers, careless drivers, drunk drivers, speeding drivers, drugged
drivers, texting drivers, talking-on-the-phone drivers, looking-at-the-GPS
drivers, hurry-hurry drivers, tailgating drivers, upset drivers,
eating-while-driving drivers, putting-the-lipstick-on-while-driving drivers, elderly
drivers, and so on.
As we always say: it is better to arrive late at your
current destination, than to arrive early at your final destination. Slow
down at intersections, let the aggressive drivers go first, it does not worth
it getting you or your family injured or killed.
Drive safely. Learn
from these deadly accidents and slow down.
IF YOU MUST GO, THEN TAKE IT SLOW.