Have you ever been in any kind of motor vehicle crash?
I think most of us hope the answer to that question is 'no,' but I'm also betting that a lot of us have. And also, a lot of us have gone through the expected things that happen after a crash involving two or more vehicles, with making sure everyone's OK, getting medical help if not, filling out police reports, filing insurance claims, maybe calling a tow truck or two, and so on.
What you shouldn't do is flee. Especially if someone got hurt. And yet, that's allegedly what one Palm Bay, Florida resident did earlier in September.
According to the West Melbourne Police Department, Rebekah Makenzie Tate was driving early on Sunday morning, September 1, when she hit a rider at the intersection of US 192 and Dairy Road in West Melbourne. It's not clear how fast the vehicles were going, but she reportedly hit the rider hard enough to knock his motorcycle helmet off of his head.
She then "[left] him in the middle of the roadway with life threatening injuries." I'll let the rest of the police department's description of the incident fill in the blanks, because it's pretty horrifying.
They wrote, "Instead of remaining on scene or calling 911, Tate can be seen driving away with the motorcycle still attached to the front of her vehicle. Tate then pulled her vehicle into the parking lot of a local business in an attempt to hide."
And it gets even worse. The report goes on to say that "At one point, Tate attempted to remove the motorcycle from underneath her vehicle." Good luck with that; in the photo taken by the police, we can see that a Honda Rebel 500 is wedged pretty solidly up underneath the front bumper of a fourth-gen Toyota Rav4, and that the bumper of the car sustained noticeable damage (whether from this crash or another prior to this incident, we can't say).
The report goes on to add that "She is then seen talking on her phone before being picked up in a black sedan. The male driver of the motorcycle was taken to a local area hospital where he was listed in critical condition at the time. Tate was arrested this evening and taken to the Brevard County Jail with a no-bond status."
The rider's mother later posted on Facebook that her son was in the ICU on a ventilator, and that she understandably hopes this woman pays for what she did to her son. Another commenter wanted to draw attention to their best friend, who they said was out doing Door Dash deliveries and immediately stopped to help the rider and render CPR until medics could get there.
We at RideApart wish the rider a good and complete recovery, and once again ask drivers to pay attention to what's going on around you. And though I shouldn't have to say this, if something happens and you hit someone else, don't try to run away. Own up to it. And try to help the person or people who are hurt. Someone's life is more important than your inconvenience or embarrassment, and that's true no matter who you are.
