Kannapolis, NC — March 23, 2023, Franklin Dooley was killed following an accident where a motorcycle and a truck collided.
Investigators said that the incident happened at the intersection of Dale Earnhardt Boulevard and S. Little Texas Road. Officials said that 37-year-old Franklin Dooley was on a motorcycle traveling westbound on Dale Earnhardt. From oncoming lanes, authorities say a truck pulling a trailer made a left turn into the path of the motorcycle. This resulted in a collision, seriously injuring Dooley. Dooley ultimately succumbed to his injuries.
Commentary by Attorney Michael Grossman
At this time, authorities don’t report any charges or citations. But that could all be pending further investigations. To be blunt, the stretch of road I’m seeing when I look up this intersection shows that there’s no light. Generally speaking, that means a vehicle making a left turn would have to yield to oncoming traffic. So why didn’t that happen here?
It could be that the truck driver just wasn’t paying attention or was in a rush and thought they could beat the oncoming motorcycle. It could also be, however, that the speed of the motorcycle, visibility issues at the time, or other extenuating circumstances made it reasonable that the driver attempted to make a left turn.
My concern in clarifying those possibilities is that a lot of people are quick to assume that motorcyclists were being reckless whether or not there’s evidence to say so. I have no particular reason to believe the motorcyclist here did anything reckless, and I always talk about the importance of giving victims the benefit of the doubt until the evidence can speak for itself. It’s obviously possible there were negligent actions on the rider’s part, but what good would it do to make that assumption without knowing the whole story?
Hopefully, authorities here are equally prudent in that regard and are taking necessary steps to ensure the victim’s loved ones get the facts. Whether that will show someone needs to face consequences for their recklessness or that this was all just an unfortunate, unavoidable tragedy remains to be scene.
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