Requiescant in pace – July 2010

I subscribed to Google news with certain key words, like “Harley-Davidson” and “Road King”, and first I was quite shocked to get on a daily basis email notifications of a fellow Harley driver who died in a accident. Note that these news alerts are mainly limited to events in the US.

I think that in some cases one can learn from these tragic events, and I want to continue to produce this compilation, mentioning the fellow divers and passengers killed while doing what they most enjoyed.

One worrying analysis came from Wisconsin, titled: “YES: States without helmet laws benefit from tourism” (here the link). The states money making as tourism may benefit, as will their undertakers.

Please drive safely and wear a helmet!

R.I.P

1.7. Alan Board, 47, of Flintstone, was killed early this morning when he wrecked his motorcycle during a police chase that started in Flintstone in north Walker County. The chase started when law enforcement was called to a domestic dispute at a residence at Ga. 193 and Ga. 2. Board jumped on a 2001 Harley Davidson motorcycle and fled, with Walker County sheriff’s deputies in pursuit. He was traveling 100 mph at times during the chase and eventually led police to Broad Street in Chattanooga, where he turned around and headed back to Georgia. As Board was rounding a curve at Chattanooga Valley Road and Ga. 193 in north Walker County, he lost control, overturned, struck a stop and was ejected from the motorcycle. The motorcycle was thrown 193 feet, landing in a field, he was pronounced dead on the scene.

1.7. A Raleigh man is dead after his motorcycle hit a tree early Thursday morning. Saline County sheriff’s deputies responded to a call at 1:36 a.m. of a motorcycle crash on northbound Illinois 34, about three miles north of Harrisburg. Police say that 29-year-old Matthew Howard was driving a 1994 Harley Davidson motorcycle on Illinois 34 when he ran off the road and struck a tree. Howard and a passenger, 27-year-old Tiffany King of Harrisburg, were taken to the Harrisburg Medical Center where Howard was pronounced dead. King was flown to Deaconess Hospital in Indiana with major injuries.

1.7. One person is dead after a motorcycle collided with a lawn mower in Coshocton County. It happened around 2 p.m. in Adams Mills at the intersection of State Route 16 and Bridge Street. A Harley-Davidson with a sidecar driven by 48-year-old Russell Hammond of Coshocton was traveling west on State Route 16. “A gentleman on a riding lawn mower was traveling to the north, passed in front of him off bridge street-passed in front of the motorcycle-and the motorcycle struck the lawn mower, ” says Sergeant Chuck Merryman. Hammond and the driver of the lawn mower 73-year-old George Holland of Conesville, were ejected from their vehicles. Hammond was taken by Med-Flight to Genesis Good Samaritan Hospital where he was pronounced dead. Holland was taken by Med-Flight to Grant Medical Center in Columbus where he is in fair condition. There were also three passengers on the motorcycle. Hammond’s wife 34-year-old Audra Hammond and four-year-old son were treated and released at the hospital. Their seven-year-old daughter was taken to Children’s Hospital in Columbus as a precaution.

2.7. A Roann businessman was killed Thursday night in a single-vehicle crash in Wabash County. Indiana State Police confirmed Steven Allen Brandt, 59, died aboard a Samaritan helicopter flight on the way to Parkview Hospital in Fort Wayne Thursday evening. Brandt, who has served as co-owner of Brandt’s Harley Davidson, Wabash, since 1973, was riding a 2009 Harley-Davidson Street Glide motorcycle south on CR 700W, north of CR 400N Thursday night. The motorcycle left the west side of the road and flipped at least once, ejecting Brandt before stopping in a ditch. Brandt was not wearing a helmet.

3.7. A correctional officer who served in Iraq with the Navy was killed early yesterday morning in an alleged hit-and-run accident in Worcester, officials said. Edmund Lindberg, 28, of Worcester, was driving his Harley-Davidson motorcycle on Blackstone River Road about 2 a.m. when he collided with the passenger side of a blue vehicle after that driver made an abrupt left turn into Lindberg’s path, Worcester police said in a statement. Lindberg was thrown from the motorcycle, police said, and the other driver continued traveling west on Whipple Street, located off Blackstone. Lindberg suffered extensive head trauma and was taken to UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester, where he was pronounced dead at about 2:30 a.m.

3.7. A 41-year-old man was killed Friday night when he lost control of his Harley Davidson FXR and struck a pole off Route 21 in Putnam, state police said. State police identified the victim as Putnam resident Edward James Tobey of Woodstock Avenue, who was pronounced dead at the scene. He had been riding south on the rural highway when the accident happened shortly before 11 p.m. Friday.

3.7. James Lee Anderson, 36, of Claremore was riding east on Oklahoma 20 when his 1998 Harley-Davidson hit a car that was turning left onto Oklahoma 20 from 150th East Avenue about 5:50 p.m., the Oklahoma Highway Patrol reported. Anderson’s motorcycle struck the driver’s side of the 2005 Chrysler PT Cruiser, which was driven by Andrew James Koon, 22, of Owasso, the OHP report says. Koon failed to yield, according to the OHP report. Anderson, who was not wearing a helmet, died at the scene.

3.7. A 48-year-old man, Darrell T. Moore of Leavittsburg, Ohio drove his 1993 Harley Davidson motorcycle on State Route 303, east of Snow Road in Windham Township in Portage County. Moore drove the vehicle eastbound on State Route 303, where he overturned. He was ejected from the vehicle and pronounced dead at the scene by the Portage County Coroners office. Moore was not wearing a helmet at the time of the accident. Alcohol is a suspected factor in the crash.

4.7. Frank B. Merritt, 48 of Milton, has been identified as the motorcylcist who died following a 9:50 p.m. accident Saturday on Highway 90 near Diamond Street. According to the FHP report, Ryan L. Johnson, 23 of Century, was stopped at Diamond Street and attempted to make a left turn on to Highway 90. As Johnson made a left turn onto Highway 90 the front of Merritt’s Harley Davidson struck the side of Johnson’s Chevy C-1500. Merritt was ejected onto the pavement following the impact and his Harley Davidson came to final rest on its left side across both eastbound lanes of Highway 90. Merritt was transported to West Florida Hospital by Lifeguard Ambulance Service and later transferred to Sacred Heart Hospital where he was pronounced deceased.

4.7. Eugene Weeks, 43, of Aiken, was traveling north on S.C. 19 near Highway 191 on his 1996 Harley-Davidson when he lost control “spilling himself into the roadway,” sliding more than 200 feet. He was then struck by a 2000 Chevrolet Monte Carlo driven by 26-year-old Keivea Moore of Edgefield, also traveling north. Moore told investigators that she did not see Weeks lying in the road when the incident occurred. Moore was not injured. The accident happened around 11:45 p.m. According to Aiken County Coroner Tim Carlton, investigators are not sure how long Weeks was in the road before he was struck. There is no information at this point that Moore contributed to Weeks’ death, Carlton said that it appeared that Weeks died from injuries he sustained when he wrecked his motorcycle. He was not wearing a helmet, according to the Highway Patrol.

5.7. Vacaville man dies in motorcycle accident

5.7. A crash occured when Lawrence E. Mclauglin, 58, of Lewes , was operating a 2005 Harley Davidson northbound on SR 1 approaching Old Mill Road. For unknown Reasons Mclaughlin exited the east edge of the road and continued north along the grassy portion of the roadway until the motorcyle struck a tree. Mclauglin was ejected. He was not wearing a helmet at the time of the crash. Mclauglin was flown to Beebe Hospital in Lewes where he was pronounced dead.

5.7. A retired central Maine police officer was killed in a motorcycle accident in Oakland Friday night. 62-year-old Larry Violette was riding his Harley Davidson on Kennedy Memorial Drive around 6:30 p.m. when the accident happened. No other vehicles were involved, but officials say it appears Violette lost control of his bike after passing another vehicle. Oakland Fire Chief David Coughlin said ” It appears the motorcyclist was heading westbound into Oakland went to pass a vehicle, came back into the travel lane, lost control, hit a guardrail leading up to a bridge.” Violette was a retired police officer from Skowhegan Police Department. Officials say Violette was not wearing a helmet.

5.7. A 53-year-old man died on his Harley Davidson motorcycle Sunday night after broadsiding a truck on South Congress Avenue. At 10:19 p.m., Austin police responded to a crash at South Congress Avenue near St. Edward’s University . Police said a preliminary investigation showed a 2005 Chevrolet pickup was exiting a private drive on the west side of the road. The motorcycle was traveling southbound on South Congress Avenue when it T-boned the driver’s side of the Chevrolet. Austin-Travis County EMS transported the motorcyclist to University Medical Center Brackenridge , where he was pronounced dead. He was not wearing a helmet.

5.7. A Clear Lake man died early Sunday after the motorcycle he was riding apparently collided with a deer in Crow Wing County, according to the Minnesota State Patrol. Thomas C. White, 63, was pronounced dead at a hospital in Crosby, according to the State Patrol. He was riding a Harley-Davidson at about 1 a.m., heading south on U.S. Highway 169 when the crash happened about one mile south of Garrison, according to the Patrol.

5.7. A second man participating in a cross-country Harley-Davidson race has died — this time in a crash on an Alaska highway. Alaska State Troopers say 63-year-old Kenneth J. Greene of Ocala, Fla., died after crashing his motorcycle Sunday afternoon on the Glenn Highway near the Matanuska Glacier. Troopers say Greene was participating in the Hoka Hey Challenge, an 8,300-mile motorcycle race starting in Key West, Fla., and ending in Homer, Alaska. The race has been marred with several accidents. Another man died participating in Wyoming after he evidently fell asleep while riding. Troopers say the Alaska crash happened after Greene drove onto the shoulder and lost control of his bike. He was ejected from the Harley and died at the scene.

5.7. Brenton Hubley, 21, was pronounced dead at 1 p.m. today at Rockford Memorial Hospital. He died from a traumatic brain injury sustained in the crash, according to a news release from the Winnebago County coroner’s office. Hubley was in critical condition Saturday afternoon after he crashed his 2001 black Harley-Davidson motorcycle while traveling southbound on Owen Center Road. At the time, his 36-year-old sister and her boyfriend were riding a motorcycle in front of him. As the motorcycles slowed to turn west onto Elmwood Road, Hubley lost control and crashed in the middle of the roadway, police said.

7.7. A man was killed in motorcycle crash (Jamestown Sun) The patrol has not released the name of the 65-year-old man driving a 2007 Harley Davidson north on ND Highway 1806 around 10 pm

7.7. One person died and two people were hospitalized late Tuesday night when a motorcycle slammed into a car. John Harlan, 36, of Colorado Springs, died shortly after 11 p.m. Tuesday at the scene of the crash. Harlan was riding a 2009 Harley-Davidson south on Powers Boulevard when he hit a 1998 BMW sedan turning left onto Powers Boulevard from a stop sign on Grinnel Boulevard, according to police. The passenger of the motorcycle, 35-year-old Yovanne Medina, suffered serious injures while the driver of the BMW, 44-year-old Jacqualine Brown, suffered moderate injuries. There was no passenger in the BMW. Neither Harlan nor Medina was wearing a helmet.

10.7. A 29-year-old woman was killed Friday night in a motorcycle crash in Somerville, Massachusetts State Police said. Sinead M. Lovett, of Braintree, was a passenger on a 2003 Harley-Davidson that crashed into the curb on Route 28 South near Mystic Avenue. The woman and Richard Migliacci, 37, of Somerville, who was driving were both thrown from the motorcycle. Both victims were taken to Massachusetts General Hospital where Lovett was pronounced dead. Migliacci suffered serious injuries.

11.7. An Aloha man died on U.S. 97 Saturday night after he failed to negotiate a curve on Highway 97 about 11:45 p.m. William R. Anderson, 60, was northbound about two miles north of Moro when to failed to make a curve, hit a guardrail and was thrown from his Harley Davidson, according to Oregon State Police. He was then hit by two commercial trucks traveling southbound who were unable to avoid him, police said.

12.7. Shreveport police crash investigators are looking into an accident that claimed a Bossier City man’s life early Sunday morning. William Harper, 33, died of injuries he received when his motorcycle crashed on Clyde Fant Parkway near its intersection with Crockett Street in downtown Shreveport about 4:20 a.m. Sunday. Harper was headed east on a 2009 Harley Davidson motorcycle when he apparently lost control and ran off the road, hitting a fence. He was taken to LSU Hospital in Shreveport, where he died.

13.7. A Middletown motorcyclist was killed when his bike slammed into the rear of a car on Mountain Road in Greenville late Sunday afternoon. Bennett Gentile, 55, was pronounced dead at the scene of the 5 p.m. accident. A vehicle driven by a 44-year-old New Windsor man was turning left onto Mountain Road from Springbrook Road when Gentile rode over a crest and struck the rear of the car, throwing him onto the back of the car.

13.7. A 37-year-old Baltimore County Police officer was killed over the weekend after crashing his Harley Davidson motorcycle in Jarrettsville. State Police have identified the officer as William Anderson III of Jarrettsville. The crash happened at around 2:30 Sunday afternoon on northbound MD 165 at Nelson Mill road. Anderson was traveling northbound on MD 165 behind a 1996 Chevrolet pickup truck. The driver of the pickup truck stopped to make a left turn onto Nelson Mill Road and Anderson did not stop. He slammed into the back of the truck and was thrown from his motorcycle. Anderson was flown to the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center. He was pronounced dead shortly after he arrived.

15.7. A 34-year-old York County Prison corrections officer was killed Wednesday night after his motorcycle was hit by a car turning into a convenience store in Manchester Township. Jonathan Sowers of West Manchester Township died when the motorcycle he was riding collided with a vehicle that was turning into the Rutter’s Farm Store on Roosevelt Avenue, near Greenbriar Road, at 11:26 p.m. Wednesday, according to Northern York County Regional Police. Sowers was heading north on Roosevelt Avenue on a 2006 Harley-Davidson Road King when he was struck by a southbound 2004 Hyundai Sonata driven by a 17-year-old Manchester Township girl, police said. Sowers died from multiple blunt-force trauma and was not wearing a helmet.

17.7. A man died in south Edmonton Saturday after being flung from his motorcycle off a freeway ramp and falling 10 metres to the road below. The 37-year-old crashed his Harley-Davidson into the retaining wall of the southbound exit ramp from Anthony Henday Drive onto Calgary Trail. The driver flew over the railing and landed in the second inside lane on the road below. His body then slid 12 metres into the mud on the side of the road. Manz said it was lucky nobody else was injured. “With the deceased flying through the air and landing on the road here, he could have landed on a car and caused multiple injuries,” he said. It was also fortunate the wrecked motorcycle didn’t hit other vehicles when it slid across four lanes of traffic after bouncing off the wall. The driver was wearing a “a skull cap” rather than an approved helmet, though he said the difference would not have saved the victim’s life.

17.7. Two people killed Friday in a motorcycle accident Whitman County have been identified. William and Kathleen Russell, both of Albion, were killed after their 2005 Harley Davidson collided with a truck on Pullman–Albion Road. The Russells were westbound on Pullman-Albion near State Route 27, when a truck, driven by Brandon Reynolds, 27, of Moscow, attempted to turn left into a private driveway in front of them, the Whitman County Sheriff’s Office said. Kathleen Russell, 59, was pronounced dead at the scene. William Russell, 55, was transported to Pullman Regional Hospital where he was pronounced dead a short time later.

17.7. A 68-year-old North Dakota man died Saturday night when the motorcycle he was riding hit a deer north of Red Lodge. Ronald Shaide, of Cartwright, N.D. was riding a Harley-Davidson motorcycle northbound on Highway 212 when, at about 8:30 p.m., it struck a deer in the road a few miles north of Red Lodge. The motorcycle crashed and the man, who was not wearing a helmet, was taken by ambulance to Beartooth Hospital in Red Lodge. He was declared dead at the hospital.

18.7. Just after 12:30 a.m. this morning a couple on a motorcycle skidded into oncoming traffic on Putty Hill Avenue in Baltimore County killing the female passenger. The victim, Kimberly Jean Bortell, was riding on the back of her husband’s 2005 Harley Davidson motorcycle when he lost control of the bike. The motorcycle skidded onto its right side and crossed the center line on Putty Hill Avenue and crashed into the front left tire of an oncoming 2001 Chevy Tahoe. Kimberly Bortell was thrown from the motorcycle and struck the Chevy. According to Baltimore County Police she died on impact.

18.7. A female motorcyclist was killed when she lost control and struck a tree shortly after midnight Sunday, July 18, in the area of Kyles Station and Oak Creek Trail. Carol L. Boyd, 53, of Franklin, was traveling east on Kyles Station Road riding a 2010 Harley Davidson when the crash occurred, according to the Butler County Sheriff’s Office. Boyd was not wearing a helmet when she lost control and struck a tree; she was pronounced dead at the scene, authorities said.

18.7. The Elyria Post of the Ohio State Patrol are investigating a fatal accident that happened Sunday afternoon on State Route 82, west of Station Road. Michelle Schneider-McGuire, of North Ridgeville drove a 2001 Honda CRV westbound on state route 82. She stopped behind a car that was waiting to make a left turn. Ronald Phillips, of Medina drove a 2010 Harley Davidson westbound on the same road. Ronald’s daughter, 12-year-old, Abigail Phillips, rode on the rear-seat of the motorcycle. Ronald Phillips hit the back of Schneider-McGuire’s stopped car, and both he and his daughter were ejected from the Harley Davidson. Ronald Phillips was pronounced dead at the scene. Abigail Phillips was taken to Southwest General Hospital, and later to the MetroHealth hospital. Schneider-McGuire was uninjured in the accident. Abigail Phillips was wearing a safety helmet. Ronald Phillips did not have a helmet on.

19.7. Brian L. Swisher, 42, of Rittman, was driving a 1977 Harley-Davidson south on Seville Road, just south of Sterling Road in Milton Township, at 5:43 p.m., when he failed to negotiate a curve. Swisher then lost control of his motorcycle and went down an embankment into a creek. Both Swisher and his passenger, Endora Garcea, 40, of Creston, were ejected from the motorcycle, authorities said. Swisher was pronounced dead at the scene. Garcea sustained incapacitating injuries and was transported by medical helicopter to Akron General Medical Center, where she was listed in serious condition on Sunday. Authorities said no helmets were in use, and alcohol appears to be a factor in the crash.

23.7. A Morgantown man is dead after his motorcycle collided with a truck on Route 705. Police say Dennis Robinson, 60, was riding his Harley Davidson on Route 705 when a Comcast truck, traveling in the opposite direction, turned left onto an access road colliding with Robinson. Robinson passed away from his injuries at Ruby Memorial Hospital. The truck was driven by Nelson Nyirongan, 30, of Castle-Shannon, Pennsylvania. He was not injured in the accident.

24.7. There has been a deadly motorcycle accident in Lapeer County. Jeffrey Todahl was southbound on Lapeer Road Friday, near Barnes Lake Road, when his Harley Davidson was hit from behind. Todahl had slowed down to make a left hand turn into a driveway. The motorcycle, and the car that hit it, were pushed into the northbound lane. Todahl was killed. His 17-year-old son, who was on the back of the bike, is in the hospital in serious condition.

25.7. Two people on a Harley-Davidson motorcycle were killed when their bike was rear ended by a minivan in Eden Valley. Sarah L. Klein, 30, driver of the minivan is being held on possible charges of fourth-degree DWI and criminal vehicular operation. Saturday afternoon’s crash on Minnesota Highway 55 killed 50-year-old James R. Nelson and 43-year-old Amy J. Langford. They are both from Spicer.

25.7. A motorcyclist was killed when she lost control of her bike, hitting a guardrail and several trees, police said. Officers were called to the intersection of County Road 800 South and County Road 600 West just after 4 p.m. on Saturday. Police said Cynthia Smart, 50, of rural Jamestown, was driving a Harley-Davidson Sportster when she lost control in a curve and ran off the road. Smart was ejected from the bike and thrown. She was pronounced dead at the scene. Police said Smart was not wearing a helmet.

26.7. A Gardner man was allegedly traveling more than 80 mph and passing cars on Route 56 in the minutes before his motorcycle struck a guardrail, leaving him dead Saturday evening. A fellow motorcyclist was charged with drunken driving. Peter Lombardo, 37, was riding his Harley-Davidson motorcycle northbound about 6 p.m. Saturday when the accident occurred. Mr. Lombardo was rushed to St. Vincent Hospital in Worcester by Leicester EMS, but was soon pronounced dead, according to police. Harley Ellis of Gardner was riding with Mr. Lombardo on a separate motorcycle. Mr. Ellis told an officer he was unsure how the accident happened but realized something was wrong when he saw his friend’s motorcycle “traveling alongside of him . . . without him on it.” Mr. Lombardo’s motorcycle traveled about 200 yards from the point of impact. Mr. Ellis was charged with drunken driving, negligent operation of a motor vehicle and speeding.

27.7. A 49-year-old woman was killed Saturday after the motorcycle she was riding on collided with a car on Route 5. Sgt. Matthew Baker of the Oxford County Sheriff’s Office said Jean Fisher of Leeds and her 46-year-old husband, Joseph Fisher, of Leeds were thrown from their 2007 Harley-Davidson Road King. Joseph was driving the motorcycle north when it struck the back of a station wagon driven by 61-year-old Peter Ellsworth of Bedford, Mass., at the intersection with North Lovell Road. “The car stopped to make a left-hand turn,” Baker said. “For whatever reason the motorcycle didn’t see that the car had stopped and was unable to stop in time.” Baker said neither Joseph nor Jean was wearing a helmet. Jean died of blunt force trauma to the head, and Joseph was taken to Bridgton Hospital and then to Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston with injuries that were not considered life-threatening. Ellsworth was not hurt in the accident.

27.7. A 55-year-old Rochester woman is dead and her husband is hospitalized after their motorcycle crashed during a charity ride in memory of a relative who also died in a motorcycle crash. Lucille and Mark Rabideau were leading a ride of about 10 people in memory of Mark’s brother Tom, who died after suffering a heart attack while riding his motorcycle several years ago. State Police say Mark Rabideau lost control of his Harley Davidson and hit a guard rail along the Lake Ontario State Parkway Sunday afternoon. He and his wife were thrown from the bike, which burst into flames. Both were taken to Strong Memorial Hospital, where Lucille Rabideau later died. Mark Rabideau was listed in guarded condition Monday with internal and leg injuries.

27.7. An eastern Indiana man was killed when a motorcycle he was riding collided with a deer near the town of Brookville south of Connersville. A witness told police that around 5:15 Monday afternoon, a 1996 Harley Davidson Heritage hit the deer head-on near St. Mary’s Road just south of Wolf Creek Road. The witness said the motorcycle went down and pulled the driver, 61-year-old Roy Miller, of Brookville, about 80 feet along the pavement. Police said Miller was not wearing a helmet. Medics pronounced him dead at the scene.

30.7. A motorcylist has died in a car accident in Devon while travelling to an Harley Davidson event in Cornwall. The man, 50, from Buckhurst Hill, Essex, was travelling to Cornwall for a Harley Davidson camping weekend when the incident happened. Paramedics and the Devon Air Ambulance attended the incident at about 1120 BST on the B3212 at Longdown, near Exeter. The driver of the car, a Honda Civic, was not injured.

Did you Know… that there are about 40 motorcycle hearse companies in the United States, there is even an “American Motorcycle Hearse Association”

I hope this list of fatal accidents for July 2010 is complete, but I fear it may not be. In the US alone, about 14 motorcycle drivers of all kind of brands die every day. If you know of other tragedies involving drivers of a Harley-Davidson motorcycle, please feel free to add them in their memories in the comment fields.

Have a safe journey