Second accident kills motorcyclist

Topeka Capital-Journal, The, Sep 3, 2008 by Barbara Hollingsworth

By Barbara Hollingsworth

THE CAPITAL-JOURNAL

A Topeka motorcyclist lay injured along the side of the Kansas Turnpike on Tuesday afternoon when he was struck by a passing vehicle and fatally injured.

It was the second time that Ronald D. Howard, 46, had been hit by a vehicle in just minutes as rain pelted the turnpike in Leavenworth County. Another Topekan, Mary J. Brauner, 48, was transported to The University of Kansas Hospital in Kansas City, Kan., in critical condition.

Brauner was a passenger on a 2005 Harley Davidson motorcycle driven by Howard. But as rain fell, Howard and another Harley rider pulled under a bridge to change into their rain gear, said Dottie Conboy, a Kansas Turnpike Authority dispatcher.

About 2:20 p.m., a 1992 Mercury driven by Yusufu Unisa Kanara, of Lawrence, hydroplaned on the wet road, striking the motorcycles, according to an accident report and Conboy. The other Harley driver jumped over a guardrail as his bike was dragged. But Howard and Brauner were struck.

As they lay injured, another Harley driver and passenger -- both from New Zealand -- pulled over to help flag traffic away from the scene.

But another passing driver would lose control by the bridge.

A 2004 Chevrolet Trailblazer driven by Jamie L. Randolph, of Lawrence, hydroplaned, struck the Good Samaritans' motorcycle, and ran over Howard and Brauner before striking the center median barrier.

Because of the heavy rain, a Life Flight helicopter was unable to fly to the scene. Both Howard and Brauner were transported to the KU hospital by ambulance. Howard was pronounced dead at the hospital.

Conboy said the accident had been jarring for emergency workers, even those in the dispatch office. Kanara, she said, had called the office to check on the status of Howard and Brauner. He was "totally beside himself" when he learned of Howard's death.

"He was just devastated," she said.

Westbound traffic on the turnpike was shut down beginning at 2:39 p.m. The road didn't fully reopen to traffic until just after 4 p.m.

Barbara Hollingsworth can be reached at (785) 295-1285

or barbara.hollingsworth

@cjonline.com.