This article was originally published in The Examiner on Nov. 10, 2016.
By Eleanor Skelton
Staff Writer
A Louisiana man died in a motorcycle accident on I-10 near Gator Country on Sunday, Nov. 6, at about 2:20 p.m., the Texas Department of Public Safety reports.
A 2015 Harley Davidson motorcycle was traveling eastbound in the inside lane of I-10 when the rider lost control and veered left, Sgt. Stephanie Davis said in a news release. The motorcycle crashed into the center cable barrier, causing the rider to be thrown from the motorcycle. Then the motorcycle came to rest in the median.
The rider, 41-year-old Benjamin Todd Vienne of Louisiana, was pronounced dead at the scene.
The inside traffic lanes of I-10 were closed in both directions while first responders were on the scene.
Just twenty minutes later, three vehicles collided in the slow-moving traffic after the fatal accident at 2:40 p.m.
The three cars piled up in the eastbound traffic lanes near Taylor’s Bayou.
A Nissan was traveling eastbound in the outside lane of I-10, followed by a Mercedes and a Jeep Cherokee in the inside lane.
The driver of the Jeep noticed the traffic slowdown in the aftermath of the fatal motorcycle crash and veered into the right lane between the Nissan and the Mercedes, causing the Mercedes to collide with the Jeep, and the Jeep then rear-ended the Nissan.
The driver of the Nissan, 23-year-old Lydia Hansen of Louisiana, was taken by ambulance to St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Beaumont. Her injuries did not appear to be life-threatening at the time of the news release.
Eleanor Skelton 