A Baltimore County man said a public works crew that left wet paint on a rural road is to blame for a motorcycle crash last month that nearly killed him.
Thomas Poffenbarger, a city police officer, said he was driving home from work shortly before 3 a.m. July 16 when he had to navigate a curve on York Road just south of Phoenix Road. He crossed the freshly painted center line and began to skid to the right.
The motorcycle rolled, and Poffenbarger, 45, was ejected, suffering 13 broken ribs, a broken pelvis, a broken shoulder blade and two fractured vertebras. He was flown to the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center, where he remained for two weeks.
“I remember the engine over-revving and the rear tire was spinning in wet, greasy paint,” Poffenbarger said. “There is absolutely no doubt in my mind whatsoever that?s what caused the accident.”
The allegations came days after residents complained that a county roads crew painting lines on a Reisterstown street splattered at least half a dozen parked cars. Public Works spokesman David Fidler said the county accepted responsibility and is paying to have the cars repainted.
Poffenbarger has retained a lawyer, and the county does not typically comment on pending or potential litigation. Fidler said the department had not been notified of Poffenbarger?s claims. County spokesman Don Mohler declined to comment.
County Police Officer Terrence Mills wrote in an accident report that Poffenbarger?s failure to stay to the right of the center line was the primary cause of the accident, but he cited the freshly painted, “extremely slippery” surface as a contributing factor.
“Bright yellow fresh damp paint was observed on the contact areas of the front and rear lines [of the motorcycle] as well as the interior of the rear fender,” Mills wrote.
