It’s always important to keep an extra eye out for motorcylces and to be especially cautious while riding one, as two fatal motorcycle accidents in our area on March 16 go to demonstrate yet again.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP), 56-year-old James Henry Barrow of Tampa was traveling northbound on Morris Bridge Rd. near Mandrake Rd. (east of Wesley Chapel), on his 2004 HD Electra Glide motorcycle, just after noon on March 16.
The FHP report says that, for unknown reasons, Barrow was unable to negotiate a curve in the roadway. He drove off the east side of the road and overturned in a ditch. Barrow, who was not wearing a helmet, was ejected from the motorcycle and sustained fatal injuries at the scene. Alcohol reportedly was not a factor in the crash.
Just a few hours later, in Tampa Palms, there was another fatal motorcycle accident, this one involving another vehicle. According to the Tampa Police Department (TPD), 26-year-old Gregory Joseph Ashpaugh, of New Tampa, was riding his 2008 Kawasaki motorcycle on Commerce Palms Dr. towards Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. around 6:30 p.m.
TPD reports that, at the same time, 23-year-old Rossi C. Lopez, also of New Tampa, was stopped at the stop sign at the intersection of Commerce Palms Dr. and Compton Dr. in her 2008 Pontiac G6. Although Ashpaugh had the right-of-way, Lopez did not see the motorcycle approaching the intersection and collided with the left side of Lopez’s Pontiac. Ashpaugh was ejected from his motorcycle and flew through the driver’s side rear window of the vehicle. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Lopez received a citation for failing to yield to right-of-way at a stop sign.
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