Highlands County, FL — April 3, 2023, one person was killed due to a truck accident involving a motorcyclist along U.S. Highway 27.

Investigators said that the incident happened just after 4:00 p.m. at the intersection of U.S. 27 and County Road 17. It appears that a motorcyclist was going northbound along the highway. News statements say that a dump truck "pulled right out in front of" the motorcyclist. As a result, the vehicles collided, killing the motorcyclist. Authorities have not yet identified the victim. No charges have been reported at this time.

Commentary by Attorney Michael Grossman

It would be wrong for me to suggest I know exactly what happened here. But when it's said that someone "pulled right out in front of" someone, how many times does that turn out to be a crash that driver couldn't avoid? It almost always suggests the driver failed to yield, ran a light, was on their phone, or was otherwise being negligent. While a proper investigation wouldn't ignore other unusual possibilities that couldn't be avoided, it's very likely reckless driving led to a vehicle cutting off a motorcyclist.

With all that said, my hope is that authorities are going to be thorough so that the evidence speaks for itself. I say this only because I've seen many crashes like this throughout my career where people were quick to assume the motorcyclist was doing something wrong just because they were a motorcyclist. It's an all too common negative bias that riders are dangerous drivers even though I know from experience that they tend to be incredibly safe drivers. What steps are being taken here to ensure such ridiculous assumptions don't warp the facts the victim's loved ones are getting?

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