PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — A local man suffered serious injuries when his motorcycle collided with an SUV that was pulling out of the Kentucky Fried Chicken parking lot on Main Street on Friday afternoon, according to police.
Terry Gilmer, 46, of Presque Isle was driving a 2009 Kawasaki motorcycle northbound in the outside lane on Main Street shortly before 1:30 p.m. when a 2006 Honda CR-V driven by Andrea Ritchie, 54, of Mapleton pulled out in front of him, according to Presque Isle police Officer Rob Thibeault.
Ritchie told police that another driver in the inside northbound lane of Main Street stopped his or her vehicle and motioned for Ritchie to pull out of the parking lot.
When Ritchie entered the road, her vehicle collided with the motorcycle. Richie told police she didn’t see the bike, according to Thibeault.
Gilmer, who was not wearing a helmet, was transported to Aroostook Medical Center with serious injuries. Ritchie was not injured, according to police.
A hospital employee said Friday night that Gilmer was “no longer a patient” at the hospital.
LOUD PIPES SAVES LIVES
when are you stupid people going to learn??????!!!????
dont just look 2x when you drive, look 10 times for motorcycles!
we are everywhere! there are motorcycles even in the south pole!
Loud pipes annoy people.
http://www.mecalm.org will prevail.
true mainers love LOUD PIPES
????
Loud pipes do not save lives helmets and headlights do! Loud pipes mean small….packages he he
Please educate yourself about the Doppler effect.
I think you’ll find those things at the South Pole are snowmobiles, which are possibly the only vehicles on Earth that make a more annoying noise than motorcycles.
And much as Motorcyclists HATE hearing “I didn’t see them”…it’s true, you are practically invisible. You are streamlined and so hard to see. Not to mention that you can slip in and out and around any traffic you wish. AND YES many riders do that. They weave in and out. You are exposed to more damage and injury by virtue of being on something open. As a drive I am sorry that so many are harmed but it isn’t easy to spot, any easier than a bicyclist.
Ok ban motorcycles an bicycles problem solved
well that’s just nonsense!
lots of people want motorcycles an bicycles ban
This is why I *always* wear a bright hunter orange shirt/fleece/jacket/reflective vest/etc. when riding the motorcycle/scooter/bicycle. I could never understand why other motorcyclists prefer to wear black or camo colored protective gear.
unfortunately though this was not the case on this accident. I was coming up on this accident as the bike was being hauled away. I think the driver of the car was just not paying close enough attention. The bike was a very easy to see bike.
That’s why I wear my white helmet and a hot pink jacket every time I ride. It really does make you more visible. That being said, I’ve had plenty of people who SHOULD have seen me pull out appearing to be in a hurry and barely even making a stop, let alone a second look to see if anything is coming (thankfully it has never resulted in an accident because I was watching them far before they pulled out and always tend to ride to ASSUME they WILL pull out in front of me. Second looks by motorists and heightened alert (along with lots of “negative assumptions” by motorcyclists) could save a lot of lives.
I think part of the problem is when someone stops in traffic on a multi-lane road, then motions someone else out into traffic without knowing the traffic situation behind them. Just being courteous but a dangerous thing to do.
There is a good chance the ” good samaritan” holding up traffic will be financially responsible for the accident. The biker will have 2 people to sue anyway.
There are 5 very busy lanes of traffic in that spot. Stopping to let someone out should NEVER be done.
I drove by a few seconds afterwards; hope he’s okay.
It’s funny. The other day when traffic was slowing down to make a left turn and a motorcycle ran into the back of a truck, no one came on here and started yelling for motorcyclists to slow down and pay more attention to their surroundings.
Not sure we heard the details on that one. Traffic can come to a rapid halt at that and other intersections. Best to keep a safe distance behind and eyes glued for brake lights in those areas. As a long-time motorcyclist who has endured many, many incidents where car drivers behave inanely or aggressively, let me say I appreciate it so much when four-wheeled vehicles keep a reasonable distance behind me. Thanks on behalf of the motorcycling community.
And as a fellow rider, ditto!
One of the things i observed by this article is that a courteous person let someone trying to exit a difficult location. Next is that the person coming could have easily avoided this incident by staying in the right hand lane and then when it was clear transition to the left lane. Also the person exiting should have made sure that it was clear in both lanes before exiting. These are basic driving skills that seem to be lost when you see things of this nature happening.
the whole bikes are hard to see nonsense you people say is complete BS. I’ve been almost hit so many times from regular cars not paying attention and hit at kfc for the same reason, this man is a friend of mine and one of the safest riders and rides for the same reason as me. best therapy in the world. this is just one more reason why us bikers are more aware of our surroundings
I hope your friend makes a full recovery. As a rider myself, I agree. Drivers of other vehicles so often don’t pay attention and we constantly have to be on the lookout for, well, idiots!
It always amazes me how so many people have solutions in situations like this, but very few of the details. I was the driver of the SUV and have a husband and friends who ride motorcycles and have been a passenger on one many times. So I am very sympathetic to the problems motorcycle riders are faced with on the road.
I had my left turn signal on and my intentions were to cross over to the opposite side of the street and travel in the south bound lane. The street was very congested and I was in no hurry and very willing to wait for the traffic to clear. A woman in a small bright yellow car, stopped and motioned me to go. The traffic behind her was bumper to bumper as far as the eye could see. Why she chose to do that in such heavy traffic, I don’t know. I shook my head no and refused her offer to go. She stayed there at a standstill holding up a long line of traffic and looking frustrated, signaling me harder to get moving. As far as I could tell, the other lane was empty. Its hard to know where the motorcycle came from, but its possible that he came out of the long line of traffic, further back, after it came to a stand still. Like a lot of motorcycle riders do quite often……scoot into the empty lane to get ahead of the traffic jam.
The lady in the yellow car wouldn’t go, she was insisting I proceed. I watched everyone waiting in line and couldn’t believe she was holding everyone up. So I eventually proceeded. The minute I cleared her car, I felt a thud, but never saw anything or anyone. I rolled down my window looking around, and still didn’t see anything, but did hear someone yelling to me to move back. I rolled back a few feet and there he was in front of me on the ground.
To get out of the traffic, I backed into the entrance where I had been, called 911 and waited…..only to see the yellow car turning into the opposite entrance to KFC. I thought she was going to park and come over, but she hightailed it through the parking lot and out the rear exit. The cop went out back to see if she was there, but he also figured she scooted out the back way.
Should the lady in the yellow car be responsible for the cause of the accident? That’s probably a matter of opinion. She must have felt a considerable amount of guilt or she wouldn’t have fled the scene like she did. In my opinion, she should at least be sighted for leaving the scene of an accident, because even if it was indirectly, she was involved.
I would give anything to turn back the hands of the clock right now and for this to not have happened.
don’t worry andrea, accidents do happen. i see your son on his bike often and he is always wearing a helmet and is a safe driver. maybe they should only allow right hand turns out of that driveway cause to be crossing 3 lanes to go south is tough especially at certain times of the day. my son would like to get a bike but just for this reason i am encouraging him not to.
This is why I never ride my motorcycle or bicycle in the outside lane of multi-lane roads in heavily congested areas.