THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, February 12, 1995 TAG: 9502120075
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MIKE MATHER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 63 lines
One of two men riding a speeding motorcycle died Saturday when the bike slammed broadside into a Mercury Cougar driven by a used-car customer who was taking a test drive with the salesman, police said.
The high-speed impact at the intersection of Lynnhaven Parkway and Dean Drive catapulted both motorcycle riders and sheared off the car's right rear wheel.
The 23-year-old motorcycle passenger was thrown 175 feet, police said. His still-buckled helmet was knocked off and he died at the scene. Police are withholding his name until his family is notified.
The motorcycle driver, 23-year-old Shawn A. McGrath of the 300 block of Barnstable Quay, was taken to Virginia Beach General Hospital with numerous injuries and broken bones, police said. McGrath underwent surgery Saturday night. Police said his helmet stayed on.
The driver of the Cougar and the salesman for R.K. Chevrolet declined immediate medical attention.
The salesman, John L. Ellsworth Jr., 24, of the 3500 block of Bunyan Road, later went to the hospital for an examination. He said he hit his head on the passenger-side window. The window shattered.
The accident happened about 3:20 p.m. and closed Lynnhaven Parkway for several hours.
The force of the collision sheared away the Cougar's right rear tire and lifted the car off the ground, witnesses said. Three still-laced high-top shoes belonging to the motorcycle riders were among the debris that showered the intersection.
``It was a big kaboom,'' said David Kennedy, 23, who was leaving the nearby Tidewater Volleyball Center when the crash occurred. ``The bike went straight up in the air.''
The driver of the car said he was turning left onto Dean Drive when the motorcycle struck the car's right rear.
``I was turning and there was no traffic,'' said William F. Roach, of Norfolk. ``About half way into the road I saw the motorcycle coming right at me.''
Police spokesman Lou Thurston and witnesses said the motorcycle, adorned with a ``Drive Smart'' sticker, was exceeding the 45-mph speed limit shortly before the accident happened and was still accelerating. The motorcycle passed one car southbound on Lynnhaven Parkway and then struck the turning car.
Thurston said investigators will discuss the case with prosecutors to determine whether charges should be filed.
Generally, Thurston said, speeding motorists give up their claims to right-of-way in similar accidents. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
L. TODD SPENCER
Debris is swept from a motorcycle-car collision at Lynnhaven and
Dean Drive in Virginia Beach. The wreck threw the motorcycle
passenger 175 feet and left him dead. The driver of the motorcycle
was also injured in the crash. The driver of the car was uninjured;
the passenger was examined at a hospital.
KEYWORDS: ACCIDENT TRAFFIC FATALITY INJURIES by CNB