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Charges Pending After State Officer Collides With Motorcycle In Molino
October 7, 2011
(Updated 10:45 a.m.) Charges are pending after a state law enforcement officer collided with a motorcycle on Highway 29 at Highway 97 Thursday afternoon.
The Florida Highway Patrol says officer Randolph Johnson, age 59 of Milton, was traveling north on Highway 29 about 4:35 p.m. when he attempted to make a U-turn to travel back south on Highway 29 when he failed to see a 2010 Harley driven by 43-year old Brian Cumpton of Molino. The right front bumper of the cruiser struck the left rear of the motorcycle, causing Crumpton to be ejected from the motorcycle.
Crumpton was transported by ambulance to Jay Hospital with minor injuries; Johnson was not injured.
Charges are pending in the accident, according to a FHP report.
Pictured: The state law enforcement officer driver of this cruiser (above) collided with a motorcycle (below) in Molino Thursday afternoon. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Comments
55 Responses to “Charges Pending After State Officer Collides With Motorcycle In Molino”
BOTTOM LINE PEOPLE HE’S A COP CASE CLOSED GET OVER IT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I was in Molino for several hours on Thursday getting tires changed and I witnessed that officer kept circling hwy 29 making reckless u turns to Chase down Vehicles going the opposite direction…. are the DOT hurting so bad that not only do they harass semi trucks but now are going for cars as well?… I hope that the biker is ok and that everyone starts paying attention around them….
The bottom line is, if every body and i mean everybody would just slow the heck down and pay attention to there surroundings ,, put the cell phone away,, put your big mack down ,your eye makeup, your comb,brush. ,,,i even seen someone reading a news paper they had on the steering wheel while driving down 29,,,.. you are in control of your car , it does not drive it self …to the people who dart out in front of another just to get across the road to pull in to wal-mart ,,,what the hummm is your hurry ,you will not be buying a thing if you kill someone to get there ,,if you ask me 29 is a dumb ass set up anyhow ,,, here i am in the left lane ,what i was taught was for the faster traffic ,,,ok, we are all going 55 and then BOOM someone want to make a left in one off the stupid turn off that do no not have a lane of there own ,,everyone of them should have there one turning lane , its not like there is not enough room there is a whole strip a grass there, so put them in or remove the cut through that do not have a separate lane of there own to get into ,,,,,, but all aside i’m glad everyone is ok…… but we ALL need to slow down and drive responsibly
Motorcycles are so dangerous…I hope to God my kids never ride on one. I am glad he wasn’t permantely injured.
I saw the motorcycle and the rider laying in the road after it happened (didn’t see it happen) and the first thought that came to my mind was how similar the color of the bike and the riders clothing were to the color of the asphalt.
We keep hearing and reading stuff like “look out for motorcycles” but it’s kind of strange how most motorcyclist blend in with the scenery….
So maybe bikers need to wear brighter outerwear and play a bigger
part in helping car drivers etc “look out for motorcycles”.
you know we should just remember that DOT or county officer or FHP they are just human… and EVERYONE makes mistakes… I am almost 100 percent that the DOT didn’t do it on purpose and probably felt pretty bad! So the important thing is that both are okay.. and that the damages are taking care of accordingly as they should be with every other accident
I know the man on the motorcycle. And they say he has minor injuries which is true. But he will be out of work for atleast 3 months. The bike doesnt look like it has a scratch on it or messed up, but he for sure is and the bike will be costing a pretty penny too. The officer should definitly recieve the same reprocutions as any other person would even though it was an accident. The most important thing to remember is this man’s recovery, not who is to blame.
Thank god all are safe. Trooper was overzealous, not the first time or the only one. They do good work but need to slow down and be cognizant of other drivers when they slam on their brakes in traffic and do U-turns. Better to miss a simple CMV violation than injure someone in an accident. Also troopers do get tickets but usually get out of them. Maybe he needs to close his laptop and go back driver safety training!!
Is it some of the same people on here wanting to hang this trouper
and call him names that are the trouble makers on our roads today.
Our highway is falling apart as are our bridges and we are asking for
Federal Hand outs to help fix them, when it would be more efficient to
take all the over loaded bad, speeding, drivers off the roads who tear everything up, and many of them are also responsible for the bullying going on on the highways.
Thanks Troupers for everything you do to save our lives on these dangers
hwys. Keep on doing your job, some of us really appreciate you.
@Susan, Absolutely, I know this from personal experience.
Do LEO get tickets? This is a serious question.
If we had a traffic signal at this intersection it would also have a turn light and this might have been avoided. We NEED at traffic signal at 97 and Hwy. 29!
REGARDING:
“whose back left tire was gone”
Sorry, it was the outside back RIGHT tire
AND
“as an officer it is your job to be alert of all your surroundings ! ”
True, but included in the set of all drivers whose job is to be alert and aware of dangers in our surroundings. Any one of us could kill or be killed by carelessness.
David driving in a dangerous world
some folks need to suck it up ! The officer did not see the guy on the motorcycle so it was an accident however obvisoulsy he is in the wrong and he is at fault so should follow the same laws as everybody else ! As for the comments about peoples family getting killed by log trucks and the comment about next time your kids are playing dont call the police, that is their job, that is what they get paid to do ! They are not volenteer police officers, If I was a doctor and I made a mistake and I was at fault would I be yelling out hey next time your sick dont go to the doctor ! PLEASE, IF YOUR IN THE WRONG SAY YOUR WRONG ! This man could have been killed because someone did not see them, pay attention, as an officer it is your job to be alert of all your surroundings !
@ ? —– You know what….State Officers are required to follow the same laws as us…He failed to yield the right of way..doesn’t matter if he saw the motorcycle or not…If it were you or me we would be charged for the same thing…I feel for both parties…BUT THEY CALL THEM BLIND SPOTS FOR REASONS…ACCIDENTS HAPPEN….and this sounds like all it was….I AM A CDL DRIVER and I think DOT officers are doing a great job of keeping our highways safe…..A LIGHT AT 29 and 97 is so needed before a BUS load of kids die or something worse….If you want to jump on someone or something jump on ESCAMBIA COUNTY ( OR ) WHOEVER IS RESPONSIBLE FOR PUTTING UP TRAFFIC SIGNALS IN NEEDED AREAS….
Its so sad to see everybody complaining about this officer hitting a bike. people grow up. When a over weight over width over height log truck can’t stop at a red light and kills you and your family because he’s over weight don’t start complaining abouth the log trucks. Don’t run out and get a lawyer and Sue the company because the truck was operating in a unsafe manner. Obviously you wouldn’t care if your family is killed because of a log truck. Next time a speeding CMV travels down a road where your kids are playing outside don’t call and ask the troopers to come stop them. I’ve got an idea how about you go through all the training they have to go through and enforce the law like you want to. Thank you troopers for keeping my family and my roads safer.
By the way, if any of our gentle readers out there might have one of the old Florida “SRD” shoulder patches, I’ve got good money..we are talking Florida history here.
In the 1930’s a police force was formed under the supervision of the Florida State Road Department. Its job was protect Florida’s fragile bridges and roads from overweight trucks. Collioquially, these officers were called “road patrolmen”, and they were given the additional duties of keeping hobos from establishing a presence in the state..there was a depression on at the time. Fast forward, in 1939, the Florida Highway Patrol was formed. The weight division, “Troop I” was one of the several troops through out the state. Its mission was, as originally, to protect the infrastruture of the roads and bridges we travel on. In 1981, the Troopers from the Weights Troop, “Troop I” were placed under the purview of the Department of Transportation, which was once called the State Road Department. History repeats..I’m out of space.
Here is absolute proof…officers of the law are human…leave em alone
Let’s spend a little less time judging and a little more time being thankful that everyone is ok!
By my earlier comment I meant no disrespect to the motorcyclist. I hope he/she makes a speedy recovery. If the Trooper was at fault it should be dealt with accordingly, which I am sure it will. I also meant no disrespect to baMA54, just putting facts out there to people who might not have known them. Not defending the Trooper but know this; there is a lot going on in a police car all at once (RADAR, computer, Radios, etc.) not to mention this all takes up valuable space in the windshield and other areas of the car which causes crazy blind spots. Couple that and the hours/miles a Trooper is in it, there is bound to be an crash or two in their career statistically speaking. I am just glad that it was minor crash and both parties are going to have a full recovery. It could have been much worse, which I am glad it was not.
We have another name for the DOT officers, other than one of the previously mentioned. Glad he rides a motorcycle, but I hope he wasn’t in a hurry to pull someone over and cite them for the same reason that one of our trucks was cited for. Not having our DOT # in enough of a contrasting color as that of our truck. Really???
by the way, I was passed by a log truck yesterday whose back left tire was gone, just ragged pieces of rubber still on and slinging around. I assume he didn’t know and i sure wasn’t going to try to catch up with him lest the other tires blow and the load shift on little old me. There wasn’t any major accident between Canoe Creek and the paper mill, so I assume he made it safely.
429SCJ ,
Good point. People shouldn’t make livings endangering the lives of others.
David for proper regulation
(not just regulation for the sake of regulation)
@Molino Mom; I totally disagree with you. In a traffic accident such as this, you would afforded the same set of circumstances as this officer.
In most cases involving a traffic accident involving injury, charges are not immediately levied and are stated as pending. With injuries in a traffic accident an investigation must be completed before charges are filed and that applies to everyone regardless of their status.
I remember whem Moma’s car had the roof tore off by a truck pulling overlenth logs, making a right turn, and those logs swinging wide. I remember her neck injuries and surgeries. I remember a chain snapping on a truck at the redlight in Cantonment and dumping a load of pulp wood on Mr Huelsbecks son, crushing him dead. I can still picture those death machines rolling down the road, about dark, one headlight and no others lights period, drivers intoxicated. This is 2011, If you cannot maintain your truck in a safe condition, get out of the business. 429SCJ for safe truck and truck inspectors.
What all of the posters here on this issue seem to fail to realize is that this is/was nothing more than a simple traffic accident. It does not matter whether it involved an ECSO, CVE, FHP or even the FBI. Would all the outrage be directed against him if he were not on duty and in his patrol car? Not likely, if this was the cause yall would be talking about him as an everyday citizen. This is nothing more than an accident, pure and simple and thankfully no one was seriously injured.
I wonder of this is the same DOT officer that we reported a few weeks ago. He almost caused a 5 car pile up on Hwy 29 when he slammed on brakes to do a u-turn in rush hour traffic. Apparently stopping that log truck going south on 29 was more important than the safety of the drivers around him. We called his commanding officer and supposedly they were gonna find out whom it was and address the situation. He also said that they were gonna address this safety issue in their next meeting. Apparently some people were not listening during that all important meeting. I know if that was me that hit that motorcycle there would not be any pending charges, they wold have thrown the book at me.
See these DOT all over Hwy 29 nailing all the mom and pop truckers, Soon they will be out of work and big business and greed will come in. Would rather see you nail the speeders
Really! Can’t believe all of the comments offended by whether or not these guys are real Troopers. WHO CARES! They must be CVE’s that commented): Hope they are both OK.
We have to respect our finest citizens who occasionally have to take out a motorcycle to get to a truck that may be a few pounds overweight or have a tail light out.
I don’t know all about this “who can do what” arguing.
I do know that he costs alot of people alot of money. Most of them while they are trying to make a living.
DaisyMae seems to know too much.
10-66 at Daisy’s?
i bet this won’t be handled fairly or the same as if a non cop did it. give him a ticket give him a dui test give hima drug test , put a mark on his insurance like they would me.!!
this is another example of too many diff law enforcement agencys on hwy 29. We got DOT also know as Dirty Ol’ Thiefs, then you have ncounty sherrif, then you have state troppers, As soon as u cross the state line a working man in a truck can get hit 3 diff ways. This DOT cop must of saw a working man logtruck drive by and had to go save all of us from the truck being 200 lbs overweight and almost killed a biker in the proccess. It woul of been very sad and very pittiful if that biker had lost his life for somthing and someone so stupid.
Were not taking up for him pulling out infront of thr motorcycle. If hes at fault write him a ticket. All were saying is dont pretend you know what they do as there law enforcement duties. They can arrest you from anything to Murder to a suspended license. They just have a specilized area they focus on (CMV Trucks). Be easy on the poor ol Trooper. Hes out here protecting you from overweight trucks.
Let’s not dare think wrongly of a cop for hitting someone, after all, it’s a cop. (sarcasm). They think they’re above the law because everyone treats them like they are. While they’re whipping their cop car around because they’re excited they saw someone with a tail light out and it’s the most action they’ll get all day, they dont look both ways, they think everyone should wait on them. Wrong!
WHAT…..CVE Troopers can arrest you for ANY FLORIDA STATUE THAT HAS BEEN BROKE. YOUR A FOOL TO BELIEVE THEY CANT. I DARE YOU TO COMMIT A CRIME IN FRONT OF THEM AND SEE IF THEY DONT TAKE YOUR BUTT TO JAIL…..
I just want everone to think about how fast this officer would come to your defense if it were you who carelessly pulled into the path of a motorcycle.(“made an honest MISTAKE”)
Thank God it was’nt worse.
Automatic drug test…………..
Call the officer what ever you wish, but he does have arrest power just like any other sworn officer. Be it a FWC officer or a city cop. They all have the power.
That Harley Wide Glide has minimal damage, it must have been a low speed wreck. If the pipes are damaged I have a set in new condition…
I have known this now TROOPER for a few years. He is a rider himself and is very shaken by this accident. He made an honest MISTAKE.
DOT did merge with FHP and those TROOPERS are now called CVE TROOPERS, not wanna be’s. They wear the same patches and badges as the TROOPERS on the regular side of the patrol. Please educate yourselves before you comment on something you know nothing about. Prayers to the CVE TROOPER and the motorcyclist.
First I hope everyone is okay in this unfortunate incident.
But these folks do have some arrogant officers to tell you they ran 100 mph across Quintette road from Santa Rosa to give you an overweight ticket on Hwy 29.
It happened!
I’m sure the Officer is sick this happened. I have noticed sometimes it is
very hard to see motorcycles. They can move from one side to the other
while you are looking one side to the other and mostly your mind is looking
for cars. I have to always remind myself to stay very aware of motorcycles
that come around me on the highway.
Good luck to all, and I am glad to see more Troupers on Highway 97,
This is just an unfortunate situation.
I’ve know this Trooper for many years, he has a motorcycle, and rides every chance he gets, he is very upset this has happened.
“thank you” to the posters who took the time to share their knowledge…i wasnt aware of alot of this info…good explanations were given…i would also strongly agree w/the folks who have repeatedly said, “there NEEDS to be a traffic light at that intersection!”….i am wondering if the 4:30pm sun in someones eyes may have played a part in this incident?….there was no mention as to whether the cyclist was wearing a helmet or not…could be why the motorcyclist only sustained minor injuries (if they had a helmet on)
OneWhoKnows/Norhern Southerner: About my comments I was just relating what was told to me form someone who is part of this group. He said they come under the FHP but were not troopers, but now have the authority to stop whomever not just inspect Comerical Vehicles. If he is wrong then I have passed on bad info inwhich I am sorry, and I shall get on his case next time I see him. I just love NE.com!! it keeps you educated, and I learn something everytime I get on it web page.
It is unfortunate but maybe someone will PLEASE put a stop light at 97 and Hwy. 29!!! There are so many accidents there and people are being hurt and killed, not to mention the damage to vehicles and people’s rise in insurance rates! i hope everyone will be OK.
@baMA54, please do research before commenting on stuff you know nothing about it just makes you look silly. Next time you see one look at their badge and see what it says it will say Trooper of course I take into account you can actually read I don’t want to be like you and assume anything. After that being said I’m glad to see nobody seriously injured, let this be a lesson everybody can make a mistake and look twice save a life motorcycles are everywhere.
baMA54 you have received poor information. DOT officers have been merged with the FHP. They are now Troopers but nothing has changed with their jobs, duties, or law enforcement powers. They are now called CVE Trooper (Comercial Vehicle Enforcement.)
I watched this take place and the officer was clearly at fault. He pulled out in front of the bike and the bike was not speeding.
To baMA54,
Here is how things work….. DOT (Now part of FHP) has had the same authority or Powers of Arrest (referred by you as “new found authority”) as FHP since they became a state law enforcement agency. To put things in prospective they actually had more “Power” if you want to call it that, than FHP. DOT has a federal regulatory function known as a CVSA certification for commercial motor vehicles. That means any vehicle that is driven for commercial purposes can be pulled over, without a violation, to be inspected by these Officer’s (now Trooper’s). FHP and any other Officer whether city, county, etc. has to have a reason for the stop like speeding or whatever the case may be without that certification. DOT could pull a commercial motor vehicle over just to inspect it. In theory if the Officer wanted to inspect the truck cause it was a blue truck, he can. The driver could be complying with all traffic laws and still be pulled over just because it is a commercial motor vehicle. This is what is known as a regulatory stop. And no, I am not DOT Officer or a Trooper. These people are not Trooper want a be’s, they are Trooper’s. Remember, they did not ask to get merged with FHP, that was directed by the Governor of Florida. They have always had the authority to pull cars over and powers of arrest. I would have found it quite funny for someone on the highway to dispute this fact with them, it would not have ended well. My prayers go to the Motorcyclist for a speedy recovery. Just wanted to clear up some miss-information.
These state law enforcement officers think they own the hwy. I heard they have moved from DOT inspecting trucks to law enforcement under the highway patrol. I am sorry to say but I believe some of these guys are out of control with their new found authority. I am not saying we don’t need traffic control in the north end of the county, but I have noticed a lot more active on Hwy 29 with their presents. Sam you said prayers for the Trooper, I do with them a speedy recovery, but Troopers they are not. They are Law Enforcement Officers, nothing more, but do have arrest authority as do other Law Enforcement. As stated to me by someone who knows, these guy are Trooper Want A Be. Sam, sorry I did not read the bottom of your post you’re correct about the merged, but to my understanding they are still not Troopers.
Prayers for the Trooper and driver of the motorcycle,
Effective 7/1/11, DOT MCC was merged with FHP.
I just returned from the Tom Thumb, and was wondering about all the LE cruisers on the side of 29. In the pump bay next to me I recall seeing a H/D Sportster being loaded onto a utility trailer. The bike was rolling and appeared undamaged. Im glad no ones was seriously injured.
Accidents happen (assuming the person at fault wasn’t high or drunk). Thanking God it wasn’t my ninja.