LINCOLNTON – A Crouse man suffered minor injuries after an SUV pulled in front of him at the intersection of N.C. 27 and N.C. 150 Sunday around 9 p.m. According to North Carolina Highway Patrol (NCHP) trooper R.L. Neal, Richard Mark Whitaker of 5493 Crouse Road was traveling east on N.C. 150 when the incident happened.
“A black Chevy driven by Somsack Phongsa of Grover, NC, pulled in front of Whitaker’s motorcycle,” said Neal.
Whitaker suffered a cut on his head and complained to medics of knee pain. He was transported by Lincoln EMS to Carolinas Medical Center – Lincoln as a precaution. Whitaker, according to his wife Maria Carver, is expected to be OK.
Photo: Crouse firefighters work with a motorcycle involved in a Sunday night accident. Photo by Jon Mayhew.
Carver said Whitaker told her that he saw the Somsack vehicle pull into his lane.
“He said he was going to go around the back of the vehicle when his motorcycle locked up,” said Carver.
Neal charged Phongsa with failure to yield right-of-way. Whitaker is also charged with having a fictitious tag and driving while license revoked. Both drivers were given citations.
The wreck shut down the lane of N.C. 150 east heading towards Lincolnton for about 45 minutes. Traffic was able to go westbound as authorities investigated the accident then moved the motorcycle out of the roadway.
It was the second motorcycle accident in Lincoln County in two days. Friday night, a woman was airlifted to Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte after she lost control of her motorcycle on Shoal Road.
NCHP trooper R.C. Smith said the woman claimed a tractor-trailer was in her lane of travel. She said she swerved to miss the vehicle and lost control of her motorcycle.
Smith said she hit a ditch, then a culvert.
“The woman then went one way and the motorcycle went the other,” said Smith.
The victim's name hasn't been released as the investigation into the Shoal Road wreck is ongoing.
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