Motorcyclist killed in crash in Hillsboro
HILLSBORO, Ore. - A man riding a motorcycle was killed Thursday morning when he collided with a truck turning at an intersection in Hillsboro.
Investigators said the motorcyclist, age 60, collided with a 2003 Chevrolet pickup truck that was turning left through a flashing yellow turn signal from NE Brookwood onto NE Cornell Road.
The rider, who police have not identified but said was from Hillsboro, died at the scene. The driver of the truck was a 51-year-old woman and she stayed at the scene of the crash, police said. She was not injured.
Police said it appears the pickup truck driver did not see the motorcyclist.
Police said the motorcyclist was riding a 2006 Buell motorcycle and was wearing a helmet and other protective gear. Drugs, alcohol and speed were not factors in the crash, police said.
The intersection was closed while police worked at the scene.
I wonder if they will Check her Cell phone record and see if she was chatting away with phone to ear.
These damn bikers. They think they own the whole road. Bill the family for the costs.
So sad. I agree w/the others here about the dangers of the yellow-blinking light at this intersection, because of the speed everyone's going.
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My condolences to family and friends of this man - who obviously did nothing wrong, makes it all the sadder.
If I understand the senario correctly, the motorcycle was coming towards the truck because it was going straight and therefore had the right of way. I'm sorry how do you not see a vehicle, motorcycle or whatever if it's coming right at you?!!! Even if it were dark or foggy the lights were on the the bike because if the bike is on the lights are on that's the way they are designed so that they are more visible. If you aren't capable of paying attention when you're driving then you shouldn't be on the road, do us all a favor and stay home!
NGerblansky - I totally agree!
It's pretty hard to see a motorcycle when you drive with your head up your butt. Charge her with vehicular manslaughter!
@NGerblansky  I have to agree with you. This woman's NEGLIGENCE (you really cant call this an accident) caused this man's death. She may not receive any legal charges but you can bet the man's family will rightfully sue the bejesus out of her.
'A man riding a motorcycle was killed Thursday morning when he collided with a truck turning at an intersection in Hillsboro.'  Funny, all day on the news on the radio, they said the motorcyclist had the right of way and that the truck rear ended him. So, Katu, which story is correct?
@theobserver The man had the right of way, the woman in the truck was turning left on a blinking yellow light. She didn't see him, she hit him head-on and killed him instantly. I knew him, he was a wonderful person, loving husband and father and seasoned motorcyclist. He was in the wrong place at the wrong time. One life was lost, another changed forever. A very sad day.
@Frogger, So sorry for the loss of your friend.
The blinking left turn signal was put in for convenience to drivers so they wouldn't have to wait for a complete signal change sequence and it works in most instances, but seems to work best when people who are driving pay attention to what they are doing and not talking or texting on a cell phone or playing with the radio, trying to find the music they want to listen to. WAKE UP DAMMIT AND USE YOUR HEAD WHILE DRIVING, EVERYBODY.
 @Bdou Ya I really really like that change everywhere and its the green thing to do but sadly I new it likely would come at the cost of lives by drivers who are not paying attention or trying to beat the oncoming traffic.
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So sad.....
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This is why I don't ride a bike because you just never know what the idiot in front of you is going to do and know matter how cautious or good you are you may not have time to react.
According to the Oregon DMV manual I had in 1980, the leading cause of motorcycle accidents is a car making a left turn in front of them. When will bikers learn this and slow down through intersections? Bikers in Oregon don't seem to have any driving skills, a few of them get killed every month.Â
 @The Voice of Reason Brother you need to go back and read the story .. Peace..
 @The Voice of Reason I guess we should brake from the 45mph speed limit to 25mph at each intersection and have a the car behind us, that isn't expecting and wouldn't normally slow down through an intersection, rear end us. Doesn't sound like the voice of reason to me, LOL.
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To have a motorcycle license in Oregon you have to have a drivers license first, which means we have driving skills. On the other hand to have a drivers license in Oregon you don't have to ever ride or understand the dynamics of riding a motorcycle. You should go take a riders course some day and you might learn something.
 @The Voice of Reason Almost correct.  The leading cause of motorcycle accidents is still loss of control of the bike by the rider - accounting for about half.  The leading cause of car/motorcycle accidents is the left hand turn that you mention. Â
 @Festivus  @The Voice of Reason Dang two in one day I had better call it a day and go watch Ryan kick butt!
 @FreedomRocks  @Festivus  @The Voice of Reason It's probably all that Fluoride we slipped in the water.
Seriously? Blame the biker for riding legally? How about the idiot drivers that are in too much of a hurry to make sure they can make a safe turn. Unbelievable.
Foggy day makes it harder to see out there. Drivers of all vehicles need to stay alert and attentive to the others on the road. Never assume an intersection is free to enter when no other vehicles appear to be around.Â
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Sincere condolences to the man's family, and also to this driver. It just sucks to be involved in an accident like this.Â
Oregon drivers flat out suck, they do not pay attention to anyone or anything. How many more motorcycle riders have to die for the idiots around here to understand they need to be more tentative.Â
 @Oregon_University_of_Made_in_China It's the motorcyclists fault because, as well all know, that cyclists are the main cause of accidents because drivers have to share the road with them.
how could "speed" not have been a factor? If they were both at a standstill, they wouldn't have collided.
 @ViviMax "speed" as in when you get pulled over for speeding, the term speed is refered to as going over the posted speed limit, I think you should know this by now
@ViviMax  That comment was meant to convey that EXCESSIVE or ILLEGAL speed was not a factor. Obviously the truck and motorcycle were moving.
 @ViviMax I am pretty sure it was not speed. It was the blinking yellow light AND the driver did not see the bike.These lights need to be changed. This intersection is too busy and too large to have blinking yellow lights just as 25th and Cornell is. Traffic from all three Intel SItes, Costco, Fairgrounds. Way too busy. I have watched many accidents here and also so many close calls.
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@motowatsons @ViviMax I so agree with you.... I have seen way to many at this intersection and the Elam Young Parkway one also.
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My heart goes out to the family of the rider who was killed. I'm sorry for your loss.
I was in an accident at the same intersection. Same thing. Driver turning left on a flashing yellow did not see me. I have since heard of 2 other people in an accident at the same intersection, same way. My accident was over a year ago after Hillsboro all of a sudden changed many of our left turn signals to a blinking yellow without very much notice. This intersection is heavily traveled and the speed limit is 45 which makes for greater impacts. I am scared every time I go through an intersection now. I am sad that a person was killed today and I wonder if these type of intersections need to be addressed further.
 @coco5653 The law of unintended consequences never sleeps, but I saw this one coming.  I'm willing to put money down that once we aggregate statistics from the blinking yellow transition we find the accident rate has gone up appreciably.
I've had to lock it up several times in my car at this intersection because of the flashing yellow turn signal. People just think they can make it. These flashing yellow turn signals are too dangerous at least at intersections like this one that are so busy. Plus its all downhill into this intersection from all four directions an is deceiving plus the added momentum of the vehicle by going downhill. I wonder how may we'll kill at this intersection before somebody changes it back.
How many people do you see pull into the intersection on the flashing yellow and park, waiting for an opening, even though you are expressly prohibited from doing so if you can't clear the intersection before the light turns? Â I get the throughput improvements these left turn signals provide, but it's always felt to me like a recipe for exaggerating the bad behaviors associated too much trying to save time.
"It appears the pickup driver did not see the motorcyclist"....SO a man is dead because the driver wasn't paying attention...Open your friggin eyes people! A blinking yellow turn signal does not mean proceed as if it were green! I ride every day, and it is amazing how many people just don't see motorcycles...and I'm not talking about speeding, I'm talking going along at or under the speed limit....I feel badly for the driver...but she at least gets to go home!
 @ezdzit I spend a lot of time on two wheels, motorized and not. It's absolutely terrifying how LITTLE drivers pay attention to their surroundings. I agree, OPEN YOUR EYES!!
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Condolences to this poor mans family,
@ezdzit  I ride a lot and its amazing how many people try to merge into my lane because they are too lazy to turn their head and LOOK first !   When I honk to alert them to my presence and let them know they are a danger to my safety, its even more amazing how many of them flip me off as if its my fault they almost killed me!
 @scared_citizen When I was in college a friend who commuted to school on his motorcycle carried a three-foot length of 1" chain to "warn" cars when they were merging into him.
 @scared_citizen Maybe you should stop driving in people's blind spot, or quit making bad passes. Maybe if you drove more defensively you wouldn't be so scared, and might have a little longer life expectancy.
 @The Voice of Reason  @scared_citizen More defensively ? Quit making bad passes ? What ? Do you know Sacred Citizen personally ? You know how Sacred Citizen rides? And I highly doubt that Sacred Citizen is afraid .. Most of us couldnt possibly ride any more defensively.. And every rider I know personally is definitely NOT afraid .. Being vigilant is not a sign of weakness..
We shouldnt have to send our bikes to the dump because of bad drivers ..
@The Voice of Reason  In case you missed it, I am still alive BECAUSE of my defensive RIDING. I have to ride that way to keep all the clueless cagers who are, texting, talking on their cell phone, putting on makeup, eating a sandwich, reading a book (YES, reading a book), etc. who are too lazy to look where they are going.
You are a complete freaking clueless...........you can fill in the rest.
 @scared_citizen Couldn't have said it any better. I've had this happen many times!!!
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For those people who are going to say stay out of the blind spot, when your riding in rush hour traffic it's not always possible. Pay attention when your driving how often you are in blind spots.
Very sad to hear of a fellow biker killed while riding.Â
I've been wondering about the safety of those flashing yellow turn signals. Â Just yesterday I witnessed an accident where a truck turning left pulled out in front of the guy one slot in front of me even though we had the green light. Â Got himself whacked. Â It looked at the time like he casually mistook the yellow for a "Go". Â Too early to tell on this one, but it sounds similar. Â
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As a rider, increasing the likelihood of what's already the most common car/motorcycle accident causes me worry.
 @Festivus I think they're especially dangerous at higher speed intersections (i.e. 45 mph streets with a stale green light).  People are often speeding in the 45-55 mph range and people turning left on a blinking yellow tend to underestimate how much time they truly have to safely complete the turn when the oncoming car is traveling faster than usual.