On Sunday evening in Northport, Long Island, a woman riding on the back of a Harley Davidson motorcycle died when an SUV crashed into the motorcycle. The 66-year old woman driving the 2015 Toyota SUV was attempting to turn into her driveway. She was driving eastbound on Fort Salonga Road, west of Sandy Hollow Road. The motorcycle was in the westbound lane when the SUV struck it.
The Northport Patch reported that Floral Park resident Martha Garcia, age 57, was riding on the back of the motorcycle and upon impact was ejected from the vehicle. She was pronounced dead at Huntington Hospital. Her boyfriend operating the motorcycle was 53-year old James Losita. He was treated for non-life threatening injuries at Huntington Hospital, as was the driver of the SUV.
Authorities are still investigating the accident and have impounded the vehicles for safety checks.
The odds of surviving an ejection accident are typically not in the victim’s favor. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 77 percent of passenger vehicle occupants who are totally ejected from vehicles during crashes die from the accident. Ejection accidents happen most frequently in cars when individuals are not wearing seat belts. By comparison, only one percent of people wearing seat belts are ejected from vehicles. Of course, since motorcycles do not have seat belts and also have no enclosure, riders are much more at risk for ejection during an accident.
Most motorcycle accidents occur because drivers fail to see the motorcycle until after impact or until it is too late to stop.