Man gets paid for trashed motorcycle

ROANOKE RAPIDS, N.C.

It all started when a garbage man mistook Joseph Morning's motorcycle for trash. Afterward, Morning said the city didn't want to pay up. So, he contacted me again.

"After you all got involved in everything and made a couple of phone calls they decided to take full responsibility," said Morning.

Full responsibility is welcome news to Morning after weeks of not knowing if he'd be compensated for his motorcycle that was crushed.

In September, his motorcycle was crushed by a City of Roanoke Rapids garbage collector after Morning left his bike parked next to the curb.

"I had my motorcycle cover covering it," said Morning, "but the wheel was still showing on the bike. And the mirrors were sticking up from the bike, also. So you could tell it was a motorcycle."

Instead Morning said he was told the garbage man picked up his sports bike thinking it was trash.

"He said he thought it was a couch," said Morning. "He said, when he picked it up, it was so heavy he thought it was a couch."

Morning wanted the city to take responsibility and pay for his loss. Instead, he said they wanted him to turn it into his insurance."

"I don't feel like it's my insurance's responsibility to take care of something that the city was liable to do.," said Morning. "It's going to cost my insurance to jump."

With no resolution, Morning got in touch with me. The city manager said the insurance company for the city was involved. They did work with Morning and paid him $11,500 for his sports bike.

With that money, Morning said he'll pay off the one that was crushed and then put a down payment on a new bike.

"Diane, if it weren't for you, I probably would have never got this solved," said Morning.

The city manager apologized and said this is an unfortunate incident that he hopes never happens again.

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