A motorcycle carrying a 39-year-old man and a 6-year-old girl struck a recliner chair on April 10, 2010 outside of Santaquin, Utah. According to a report given by KSL news, the chair had fallen off the back of a truck on Interstate 15. The 39-year-old man was riding on I-15 when a recliner fell off the back of a pickup truck. He was unable to avoid the chair and both he and the 6-year-old passenger were thrown from the motorcycle. The man was taken by helicopter to Utah Valley Medical Center with injuries that are not considered life-threatening. The passenger on the motorcycle suffered minor injuries.
Video Courtesy of KSL.com
Utah Highway Patrol Troopers say that crashes like this are completely preventable if people spend a little extra time to ensure their cargo is secured properly. “It just takes a little more time to tie down the load, strap it down correctly, make sure it doesn’t go anywhere, so something like this doesn’t happen,” Nigbur said.
UDOT spends about 1.8 million dollars each year cleaning debris off Utah highways. More importantly, debris on the road causes hundreds of crashes each year. In this case, it appears the motorcyclists could do nothing to avoid the recliner so fault should lie with the driver of the pickup truck. Utah law requires us to secure the cargo we are carrying and any damage caused by such cargo is the responsibility of the carrying party carrying.
I wish the two well as they recover from their injuries. I recommend they contact and experienced Utah motorcycle attorney who will help they obtain fair compensation for their injuries.