The 1980 Honda Motorcycle struck the very back tires on this truck's flatbed trailer.
Motorcyclist Killed After Hitting 18 Wheeler, GOODRICH, August 16, 2011 - At approximately 2:25 pm on August 15, 2011, a 1980 Honda Motorcycle driven by Roger Dale Rice, 46, of Shepherd was north-bound on US-59 North when his bike struck the back wheels on the trailer of an 18 wheeler (2009 Peterbilt) driven by Shirley Bobyk, of Alberta, Canada. The accident occurred when Bobyk attempted to cross over the north-bound lanes of 59 from the south-bound lanes and into the parking lot of the Goodrich truckstop. Bobyk apparently failed to yield to Rice and Rice's motorcycle slammed into the back wheels of Bobyk's trailer. Rice was ejected from his bike and went airborne over the top of the trailer and landed 27 feet from the point of collision. Rice's vehicle bounced back from the trailer and came to rest on 59, while Bobyk continued across the road and parked her rig in the parking lot of the truckstop. Americare Ambulance Service was dispatched to the scene along with Troopers from the Texas Highway Patrol including Ramey Bass, Kevin Burman, Corporal Sam Lattner, and Commercial Vehicle Inspector Brent Henry. EMS personnel treated Rice at the scene and loaded him onto an ambulance and rushed him to Livingston Memorial Hospital. Rice was wearing a helmet, but the helmet came off at some point during the accident. Rice was pronounced dead at 3:30 pm by Justice of the Peace, Larry Whitworth. Traffic on 59 was blocked during investigation and cleanup. Although Shirley Bobyk appears to be at fault, at this time, the accident remains under investigation by the Texas Department of Public Safety. A rollback wrecker from Harwood Wrecker Service recovered Bobyk's vehicle and is being stored at 101 Harwood Drive in Livingston.
Roger Dale Rice of Shepherd was driving this motorcycle when he struck the 18 wheeler trailer.
While the motorcycle was probably totaled, the truck appeared undamaged.
Sergeant Rob Thomas with the Polk County Sheriff's Office speaks with Shirley Bobyk.
At some point during the crash, Roger Rice's helmet came off. Rice passed away shortly after the collision.
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