Blog Post

Two Killed in Motorcycle Accident


March 18, 2008
Topic: Motorcycle Accidents

The dangers of reckless driving and speeding when you're on a motorcycle were brought home again on Sunday night when two people including a motorcycle rider, were killed in an accident.

Early evidence seems to suggest that the motorcyclist, 36-year-old Donnell Dodson Jr., was speeding on his motorcycle on the 55 freeway in Orange, California. It was 11 pm and Dodson was riding the motorcycle in the northbound lanes of the freeway. He lost control of the motorcycle and the vehicle hit the center dividers. The motorcycle was stalled at the divider, but Dodson was thrown across from the northbound lanes into the southbound lanes, with deadly consequences. He was hit many times by different vehicles.

An approaching Honda tried to swerve to avoid Dodson's body that was lying in the lane, and lost control of the vehicle trying to avoid going over the body. The car hit a guardrail and bounced back and into the center divider where a number of other cars struck it. That driver, Kristian Casey Wood, was killed instantly. He was just 20 years old.

There are no reports of any other injuries resulting from the accident.

This has been a tragedy on more than one count. The man speeding on his motorcycle has been killed due to his reckless driving, while another innocent man, who had nothing to do with the first accident has been killed in a ricocheted effect from the accident. This accident again brings to light the special dangers that affect motorcycle riders and the unique precautions they must take to make sure the freeways are safe for them and for other drivers.

Motorcycles accidents have been rising steadily since the nineties. In 2004 in fact, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration confirmed that 4008 motorcycle riders had died, and more then 70,000 had been injured that year alone as result of accidents. At least one third of all motorcycle drivers involved in such accidents are reportedly to be speeding. This is a worrisome trend.

It doesn't take a scientist to understand that motorcycle riders are among the most vulnerable among drivers on the street, perhaps second in accident susceptibility to bicyclists. With very little to protect them from the impact of an accident and being vulnerable to being thrown off in the event of an accident, motorcycle riders face numerous threats to their safety, and indeed their lives. A helmet can prove life saving in a high impact crash.

The rising cases of motorcycle accidents have been compounded by the fact that the demographics of these riders is changing. Older baby boomers in their fifties and sixties form the new layer of riders who are now taking to the streets, that in many ways are unsafe for them.

It's a little late in the day for Donnell Dodson Jr. to learn the number one lesson in motorcycle safety - speed kills. We hope such incidents serve as an eye opener to other drivers on the road who might be tempted to take their life in their own hands.

If you have been injured or a loved one has been killed in a motorcycle accident, you need the help of an experienced California personal injury attorney. Contact a lawyer at The Reeves Law Group for a free consultation.


The California personal injury attorneys at The Reeves Law Group represent victims of accidents, injuries and wrongful death throughout California from our offices in Los Angeles County, Orange County, San Diego County, Riverside County, San Bernardino County, Ventura County, Fresno County, Kern County, Sacramento County, San Fernando Valley, Long Beach, Antelope Valley, Torrance, Glendale, Bakersfield, Santa Ana, San Jose, San Francisco, Oakland, Ontario, and Victorville.