Woman injured in motorcycle versus SUV accident

May 16, 2014

carA San Luis Obispo woman received major injuries after the motorcycle she was riding was hit by an SUV on Thursday, police said.

At about 9:45 a.m., the motorcyclist was traveling northbound on Sacramento Drive through the intersection at Capitolio Way. A 47-year-old Arroyo Grande man failed to yield the right-of-way and crashed his SUV into the motorcycle.

Emergency personnel transported the woman to Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center for treatment and she is currently in the intensive care unit.

The driver was not injured and he did not show any signs of impairment, so he was released at the scene


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This that intersection where the 1-way STOP was reversed a couple years back. It used to stop for North-South traffic and not East-West. Now it stops E-W, but not N-S? I never understood why that wasn’t a 4-way stop (if it is that same intersection).


I hope the rider’s time in the ICU is short, and she gets well soon. I also feel bad for the driver, he must be feeling like crap.


I am so sorry this woman was hurt. People need to be aware of motorcyclists , bicyclists , and pedestrians when driving. I wish her well. So sad.


The guy had to have run a stop sign for this accident to have happened. Why was he released? I don’t think our city cops care about protecting the pubic. They always seem to give the perp a break when there’s some stupid driving behavior responsible for an injury accident. No wonder — the cops themselves are among the worst drivers in town — roll through stops, speed through neighborhoods, fail to yield the right of way, just plain rude drivers. But they’re cops, so that’s apparently all OK.


He did not necessarily have to run the stop sign. He could have stopped and just not looked well enough to see the motorcyclists before continuing into the intersection. It was obviously his fault but may have been simply a result of inadequate carefulness rather than intentional disregard for the law.


Sometimes the situation can be aggravated by the presence of an obstruction such as a parked vehicle with a high profile, a fence or shrubs that makes a good view of oncoming traffic very difficult until one is past the crosswalk or stop line on the road. I am fairly familiar with this intersection and have seen people start to pull out from the stop on Capitolio and then have to stop when they finally see a vehicle coming on Sacramento. Either a slower speed limit on Sacramento or a 4-way stop at this intersection should be considered.


I should note that, as a cyclist myself, I am very sympathetic to the victim and wish her the best for a quick and full recovery. It is wise for all of us traveling on two wheels to be even more aware of potentially hazardous situations caused by obstructed vision. Being in the right legally doesn’t undo the extra damage caused in an accident with minimal body protection. I am not saying that this is what happened but, without further information, it is as much a possibility as a more careless or even reckless act by the driver.


Hijinks says “I don’t think our city cops care about protecting the pubic. They always seem to give the perp a break when there’s some stupid driving behavior responsible for an injury accident. No wonder — the cops themselves are among the worst drivers in town”.


SLO cops are exceptionally disinterested in traffic matters, jinks. It’s not of interest to them. Even the former lady chief said (in a 2011 memo to council) she was busy with major crime and that things such as extremely loud motorcycles pipes was too complex and time consuming for her officers.


While obviously they protect us and make some arrests and handle major crime, if you expect them to do a good job in regard to traffic, or your home being thundered by a motorcycle which legally can only make the same noise as a Toyota Camry, forget it. Not with SLO cops and other LE agencies in this county. They don’t give a crap. Your anti-police rant is well justified.


Was the driver cited? Was the driver’s cell phone confiscated and / or records checked (were they texting)? Let’s have a ZERO TOLERANCE for these accidents. Perfectly sunny and dry day, but now, because of some horrible and dangerous use of a deadly weapon, a woman in fighting for her life.


PLEASE, please, please….look out for motorcycles. Hang up and drive.


Thank you.


If distracted driving was the cause, I agree completely. However we don’t know. It is possible that the cop did check that out. Lack of details in the article doesn’t mean that it didn’t occur.


You must admit that distracted driving is the most probable cause, right? Otherwise the driver INTENTIONALLY ran the intersection and hit the motorcyclist….hmmm.