The driver in a fatal New Year’s Day crash in Longmont said she didn’t see the motorcyclist killed in the collision before she performed a U-turn in front of him, according to police reports.
Martha Stanley, 65, of Boulder, has been charged with careless driving resulting in death — the minimum charge — and is scheduled to appear in court for an arraignment April 5, said Catherine Olguin, spokeswoman for the Boulder County District Attorney’s Office.
The Class 1 traffic misdemeanor carries a potential penalty of 10 days to one year in jail and/or a fine of $300 to $1000, according to prosecutors.
The motorcyclist killed in the crash previously was identified as Douglas Seamon, 66, of Longmont.
According to police reports, Seamon was riding southbound on South Main Street from Pike Road when a white Jeep Grand Cherokee driven by Stanley was traveling eastbound on Tenacity Drive.
Stanley turned right into the merge lane, then cut across the southbound lanes of South Main Street in an attempt to make a U-turn, when the motorcycle collided with the driver’s side of the Cherokee, according to the police report.
Stanley told police she turned right onto southbound South Main and realized she needed to go north.
“I was going to flip around,” she told police. “I thought it was clear.”
She told police she felt something hit her vehicle, but wasn’t sure what it was. She said she completed her turn, continued north, but then turned around at Pike Road after looking in her rearview mirror and seeing several vehicles stopped in the roadway.
The report later stated a police officer observed extensive damage to the front of the motorcycle, and a cracked helmet was located to the southeast of the bike.
The Boulder County coroner determined Seamon died of severe head, neck and chest trauma, and ruled the manner of death an accident.
Amelia Arvesen: 303-684-5212, arvesena@times-call.com or twitter.com/ameliaarvesen
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