JERICHO, N.Y. — It happens in a matter of seconds.

A motorcycle is traveling straight through an intersection.

A car approaching from the opposite direction begins making a left turn.

The driver turns.

The motorcycle keeps coming.

And suddenly, there may be nowhere for the rider to go.

That scenario ended in tragedy Monday afternoon on Long Island, where police say a motorcyclist was killed after a Subaru turned left directly across his path.

Michael Locastro, 56, of Westbury, was riding a 2025 Indian motorcycle north on Cedar Swamp Road in Jericho when a 32-year-old woman driving a 2020 Subaru made a left turn onto Old Jericho Turnpike, according to the Nassau County Police Department.

The motorcycle and Subaru collided.

Locastro was seriously injured and taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead, police said. The Subaru driver remained at the scene.

The investigation is ongoing. (Daily Voice)

But what happened in Jericho represents something much bigger than one crash.

The “Lethal Left Turn”

For motorcyclists, a vehicle turning left across their path is one of the most dangerous crash scenarios on the road.

A study by Eric Teoh of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety examined motorcycle involvement in fatal and police-reported two-vehicle crashes from 2017 through 2021.

The finding was striking:

A vehicle turning left in front of an oncoming motorcycle accounted for 26% of fatal two-vehicle motorcycle crashes.

It was, by far, the most frequent type of fatal two-vehicle motorcycle crash examined in the study. (PubMed)

That means more than one out of every four fatal two-vehicle motorcycle crashes in the study involved this basic scenario:

Car turns left. Motorcycle comes straight.

And the consequences can be catastrophic.

Why the Left Turn Is So Dangerous

A motorcycle’s smaller size can make it more difficult for drivers to judge its distance and speed.

A driver may look directly toward an approaching motorcycle and still misjudge how quickly it is closing the distance.

Once the turn begins, the rider may have only seconds—or less—to react.

There may be no time to stop.

No room to swerve.

And unlike someone inside a passenger vehicle, the motorcyclist has no steel passenger compartment, airbags or seat belt surrounding them.

The motorcycle becomes the rider’s only protection between them and the vehicle.

The Numbers Behind the Risk

The danger facing motorcyclists extends well beyond left-turn crashes.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 6,228 motorcyclists were killed in U.S. traffic crashes in 2024, accounting for 16% of all traffic fatalities. (NHTSA)

NHTSA also reports that, based on vehicle miles traveled in 2024, motorcyclists were almost 27 times more likely to die in a motor vehicle crash than passenger-car occupants and nearly five times more likely to be injured. (NHTSA)

Those numbers don’t mean every motorcycle crash involves another driver’s mistake. Motorcyclists can be involved in single-vehicle crashes, collisions with fixed objects and crashes involving other types of traffic.

But the left-turn crash stands out because it involves a very common maneuver that can put a motorcycle directly in the path of a much larger vehicle.

Drivers: Look Twice Before Turning

NHTSA urges motorists to understand the visibility challenges faced by motorcyclists and specifically emphasizes the importance of being alert when sharing the road. (NHTSA)

Before making a left turn across traffic:

• Look twice for motorcycles.
• Don’t assume an approaching motorcycle is farther away than it appears.
• Don’t assume a motorcycle is traveling at the same speed as surrounding traffic.
• Check the entire path of your turn before moving.
• Continue watching for motorcycles after another vehicle passes.
• If you’re not certain you have enough time and space, wait.

A motorcycle doesn’t have to be speeding for a left-turn crash to become deadly.

The motorcycle simply has to be there.

Riders: Expect the Turn

There’s a defensive lesson for motorcyclists, too.

When approaching an intersection or a vehicle waiting to turn left, don’t assume the driver sees you.

Watch the vehicle’s front wheels.

Look at the driver’s position and attention.

Cover the brakes.

And, whenever possible, leave yourself an escape route.

That doesn’t shift responsibility for a crash away from a driver who fails to yield.

It recognizes a harsh reality of riding:

You can be completely visible and still be missed.

One Turn. One Second. One Life.

The crash that killed Michael Locastro began with an ordinary maneuver.

A driver made a left turn.

A motorcycle was coming the other way.

Police will determine exactly what happened in Jericho and whether any violations occurred.

But the broader warning is already clear.

According to IIHS research, left-turning vehicles represent the most common type of fatal two-vehicle motorcycle crash.

For drivers, taking an extra moment to look for a motorcycle could mean nothing more than waiting a few seconds.

For a rider coming through the intersection, those few seconds could mean everything.

**The left turn may be routine.

For the motorcyclist coming the other way, it can be lethal.**