Motorcyclist Hurt In Franklin St. Traffic Accident

A man suffered non-life-threatening injuries after his motorcycle collided with a minivan at the intersection of East Franklin Street and Elliott Road on Tuesday evening.

The BMW motorcycle was traveling east in the right lane of Franklin Street as the minivan, a 1995 Nissan Quest, was travelling west on Franklin Street and preparing to turn left onto Elliott Road.

Shortly after 6 p.m. the motorcycle and minivan collided as the van turned onto Elliott Road toward the Village Plaza shopping center, throwing the cyclist 20 feet from the accident.

The driver of the minivan, Mark Marcoplos, 49, of 7207 Southern Trail in Chapel Hill, who is a member of the Orange Water and Sewer Authority's board of directors, said he didn't see the motorcycle. "It looked like it was a clear turn for me," he said at the scene. "I never saw the cyclist. It was a split second. ... I don't know why I didn't see him."

At the scene, Chapel Hill police officer L.B. Sparrow said the motorcyclist was found lying face down near the curb of the intersection. When he arrived on the scene, the victim was awake and conscious and later was taken to UNC Hospitals, Sparrow said.

Late Tuesday night, UNC Hospitals would not release any further information on the status of the victim.

Witnesses at the scene said two people nearby ran to help the victim as he laid at the side of the road.

"I got off the bus and saw him screaming," one witness said. "I just started crying."

Sparrow said the motorcyclist was wearing a full helmet, which remained intact in the accident.

Marcoplos was driving with his left foot because his right foot was in a cast, but he said it was not a problem because the minivan has an automatic transmission.

"I had total control of the car," he said. "I just didn't see (the motorcycle)."

Sparrow said that Marcoplos' cast didn't contribute to the accident and that alcohol and the weather also were not factors.

The motorcycle was totaled. Damages to the van, which included a dented hood and fender, were estimated at $1,000.

Charges against Marcoplos are pending, Sparrow said.

An employee of Barnes Auto and Towing Inc., the towing company that hauled the mangled remains of the motorcycle from the scene, said he has seen many similar accidents involving motorcycles.

But he said most accidents involving motorcycles usually end the same way -- with the motorcyclist in the hospital.

"It's a motorcycle accident," he said. "Someone always gets hurt."

The City Editor can be reached at citydesk@unc.edu.