Motorcyclist tries to run trac 
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Mike Baird/Caller-Times
A 46-year-old man driving this 1997 Kawasaki Vulcan motorcycle died after he was trapped under a tractor trailer Wednesday.
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Cyclist dies after being dragged by truck
Police say 'senseless road rage' caused the accident to occur
By Mike Baird Caller-Times
October 9, 2003
A 46-year-old motorcyclist died Wednesday afternoon at Christus Spohn Hospital Memorial after he was dragged beneath the tractor of an 18-wheeler earlier in the day on Leopard Street east of the McBride Lane intersection.
Raymond Andis was riding his 1997 Kawasaki Vulcan just before 8 a.m. Wednesday when, witnesses said, Andis darted through the intersection while heading east, made a U-turn after narrowly missing the truck that had turned left onto Leopard Street from McCampbell Road.
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Witnesses then said Andis raced alongside the passenger side of the truck, weaving toward the cab and yelling obscenities at its driver.
Police said Andis pulled in front of the truck, which then clipped the bike and dislodged him and dragged him about 25 feet beneath its undercarriage.
"It was senseless road rage," said Capt. Robert MacDonald, police traffic supervisor.
"The guy on the motorcycle got too close, he was shaking his fist and yelling at the truck driver," said Raul Soto, 51, a witness to the accident. Soto and his wife were pulling out of a RV Park across from where the truck entered Leopard Street and both agreed that the motorcyclist was driving too fast, and that the truck was moving slowly because of the red light when the cyclist was hit. Police said the motorcycle was exceeding the speed limit and that Andis wasn't wearing a helmet.
Arturo DelaGarza, a 29-year-old employee at Startex Industrial Lubricants, saw the accident and ran into the intersection yelling at the truck driver: "Hey stop, there's a guy under your truck."
"By the time I realized he was coming toward me while I pulled out, my truck and trailer were already on the road," said Magdiel Cordero, 38, the driver of the J&G Trucking Company's semi. "Then while slowing for the stoplight I just heard a loud boom and then saw the other guy running out to stop me."
Cordero said he got out of the truck and checked on the motorcyclist who was pinned beneath the truck.
"It's my first accident in 17 years truck driving," Cordero said.
Contact Mike Baird at 886-3774 or bairdm@caller.com
Submitted on 10/09/2003
Submitted by:
Bob Mac Donald
Reference:
www.caller.com
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