Motorcyclist dies after crashing into car on State Road 200

A motorcyclist died Saturday afternoon after his sports bike slammed into the side of a moving car, throwing him inside the vehicle, which caught fire and forced the vehicle driver to be rescued by passing motorists.

“It was probably one of the most horrifying things I’ve ever seen,” said Linda Sanders, who along with her husband, James Sanders, witnessed the crash that occurred at the intersection of State Road 200 and Southwest 69th Court Road.

Florida Highway Patrol troopers have identified the woman driving the car as 82-year-old Sonyalea Sue Crammer of Ocala. The name of the motorcyclist was not released due to the vehicle fire and officials who were waiting to make a positive identification. They said speed was a factor in the crash.

Troopers on scene said witnesses told them the 2005 Chevy Lumina was traveling north on SW 69th Court Road with Crammer attempting to cross the eastbound lanes of SR 200. The male Yamaha rider, who was weaving in and out of traffic and speeding, witnesses said, was traveling eastbound in the left lane of SR 200.

Authorities said the car, after stopping at the stop sign, pulled out into the roadway and the motorcycle hit the car on its left side. The motorcyclist, the majority of the bike and the car's rear passenger door all landed in the back seat of the car.

The motorcycle rider was pronounced dead on the scene, while the driver of the car, a woman, was pulled from the car and flown to UF Health Shands Hospital in Gainesville for treatment.

Officials said the woman was listed in serious condition.

The car and motorcycle were both destroyed by the fire that erupted within seconds of the crash.

James Sanders told a Star-Banner reporter that they were driving eastbound on SR 200 when the motorcycle rider, who was wearing a helmet, zoomed right by them. He estimated the speed at about 100 mph.

The man said the woman pulled out from SW 69th Court Road and when she did, the motorcycle rider tried braking. He said the tires skidded and the bike went straight into the back of the car.

He said when he stopped his vehicle and got out, the car was on fire. He said when he and several other motorists went to the car, they had to pull the woman through the driver’s side window. They took her to the grassy median, he said.

Sanders said the woman was conscious and paramedics, who had arrived at the location, tend to her injuries.

The couple, who are moving from Atlanta to Ocala, said they were at Lowe’s and were heading to a restaurant when they saw the crash.

The crash reduced the normally busy eastbound lanes from three to one as troopers investigated the accident.

— Contact Austin L. Miller at 867-4118, austin.miller@starbanner.com or @almillerosb.