Crash on ‘Dragon’ claims biker after motorcycle collides with tractor-trailer
By Iva Butler
A motorcyclist died of injuries he suffered Wednesday morning when his bike collided with a flatbed tractor-trailer on a section of U.S. 129 known as “The Dragon.”
The accident was reported at 9:42 a.m. near Mile Marker 3 on “The Dragon,” which runs from Tab Cat Creek Bridge to the North Carolina line. Lifestar was called to fly the severely-injured motorcyclist to University of Tennessee Medical Center, but he did not survive the injuries, according to a Tennessee Highway Patrol dispatcher.
The name of the victim was being withheld Wednesday pending notification of family.
Motorcyclist Glenn Shilenberg, of Amburn, Pa., told a reporter he witnessed the crash, saying, “The trailer tires were on the other side of the white line.”
The motorcycle, which was traveling south, came around a curve three miles from the North Carolina line and encountered the northbound tractor-trailer. The back wheels of the trailer were over the white line on the motorcyclist’s side of the roadway, Shilenberg said.
“The poor guy didn’t stand a chance,” he said.
Motorcyclists who were riding with the man said he was from Tennessee, but did not know what city.
A logo on the driver’s side door identified the tractor as belonging to Thom’s Transport Co. in Blackbear, Ga.
On Wednesday afternoon a Tennessee Highway Patrol dispatcher confirmed troopers were investigating a fatality on The Dragon.
THP officers were still conducting the investigation Wednesday and could not be reached.
Also responding to the scene Wednesday morning were Blount County Sheriff’s Office deputies and Rural/Metro Ambulance Service.
Trucks should have been outlawed on the dragon a long time ago.
That is sad to hear. To be honest there are sections of that road that shouldn’t be allowed for bikers without much experience either, my soon to be mother and father in law took there Harleys down there about 2 months ago and said it was a great ride but definitely not for the inexperienced new riders.
But I totally agree that truckers should NOT be allowed on that road AT ALL.
yeah thats bullshit. They 100% dont and should not be allowed to travel that road. If they cant navigate the road within the confines of the law, they shouldnt be on it.
Confines of the law as in every turn they are racking up failure to stay right/left.
Drivers should be ticketed at a bare minimum, or put up signs of “no vehicles over 30’ long allowed”.
For the rider, and any riders, they are exactly right, there are a lot of blind turns, rider or driver headed the opposite direction when those trucks are mid turn taking up the only two lanes on the road… no way to avoid hitting, even when traveling the posted speed limit.
The road is fine for a casual cruise or if you follow the speed limit.
The road is a death trap for wanna be Rossi’s who run of out skill.
Reading about this death and trucks still not being outlawed after reading about the idiot that couldn’t shut his car off and neither being pursued by the legal authorities while I get tickets for minor shit like my car missing a front plate is really starting to irk me. Out of staters don’t have to have one, my bikes don’t have to have one yet it’s a big deal when my car doesn’t have it.
I dare say speeding motorcycles in general are probably more of a problem than trailer having one wheel across the white line there. No way I am implying the rider is speeding or trailers are not a contributing factor to motorcycle accidents in that stretch of road.
If you absolutely don’t want to get run over by cagers, then don’t rider OR do your best to not get into accidents by not exposing yourself to additional risks.
One wheel across the line? the truck pulling it was hitting the center line or crossing it at times, and the ENTIRE 40’+ trailer was in the other lane and in some cases, in the dirt/gravel off the OPPOSITE LANES SHOULDER! Someone could have been standing on the side of the other lane and gotten run over! Motorcycle, pedal bike, joggers, gas powered bar stools… anything would have been run the fuck over!
Like I and vlad said, the truck driver should be charged with Vehicular Man Slaughter and failure to stay right. THERE IS ABSOLUTELY no difference in this incident and ones where a tractor trailer or another car falls a sleep at the wheel, or is texting, jerking off or what ever they might do to accidentally cross the center line and hit/kill someone on the on coming lane. NONE! Driver should be in jail for a long time.
X2…and the State police down there will ticket the shit out of you in a car if they see any part of it cross the centerline, why should a truck be any different.
it actually is pretty un real that they allow this. im in shock. its insane that a life was lost because of a truck was on a road he clearly shouldnt be on. those videos are pure disgusting.
They won’t let trailer trucks on mountain passes here for that reason and they are much wider than the dragon…that sucks a few people have to get killed and yet nothing is still being done about it.
