RIP... and Justice for the Fallen

[DeepEmissions]

This happened a few months ago:

A friend I went to High School with in my hometown was making his daily commute to his job one early morning. Coming off of a small bridge (downhill), an animal darting across the road caused him to lose traction as he slammed on both brakes (according to witnesses). It is believed that after the initial accident, he only suffered a broken hand, and maybe just a slight concussion from the impact, as he attempted to catch himself as he fell. The bike continued to skid downhill and came to rest about 80 feet from the bottom of the bridge. Sadly, he stopped rather quickly, closer to the top of the hill, and the drunk driver at about 6am struck my friend while he was still down.

2 days later: because of 1 or 2 eye witnesses, the truck is I.D.'ed and the driver (a habitual offender) is arrested.

Sometimes things happen and we don't know why. We could all speculate. But the fact is, if DUI charges we're more strict maybe my friend wouldn't have died by someone else's hand.

My friend always wore a helmet and, for the most part, drove safely. These roads are KNOWN for wild animals being next to, or on the roadway. Just a quick overreaction to a darting animal rolled his dice the wrong way. Sometimes "12 seconds ahead" doesn't always help.
Y'all be safe out there. Come back home so we can talk to you, not about you.

 

[lawlberg]

:shakehead:

 

[VEGASRIDER]

But the fact is, if DUI charges we're more strict maybe my friend wouldn't have died by someone else's hand.

.

Sorry about your friend. You can do your part against DUI by having a zero tolerance when you drink. Meaning if you know you are going to drive or ride, you will be alchohol free even though you may even have a legal right to have a couple of drinks. Lead by example, people will catch on.

RIP

 

[Motogiro]

Sorry for your loss.

 

[lytehouse]

Well I hope they lock him up and throw away the key this time.
My condolences on the loss of your friend and also to his family.

 

[Erci]

Terrible

Hope the driver gets more than a slap on the wrist.

RIP

 

[trepetti]

Condolences. It is awful to lose a friend, but even worse when the incident was preventable. Driving drunk must not be tolerated. It is unfair that the drunk survives while the victims suffer.

 

[Karate.Snoopy]

Very sorry for your loss. Unfortunately too many lives are lost due to DUI and incompetent drivers in general every frikkin day. I agree with the folks as posted above, lead by example.
Folks should not be on the road behind the wheel and definitely not on 2 wheels with a single oz of alcohol in them.

 

[VEGASRIDER]

Folks should not be on the road behind the wheel and definitely not on 2 wheels with a single oz of alcohol in them.

As a Rider Coach, we have a professional code of conduct to adhere too, and this is one of them. We must ride alcohol free. But even if I was not an instructor, it's a policy that I have personally as well.

The general public does not know how detrimental it is for a rider to even have one or two drinks. Riders most commonly compare it to driving a car after one or two drinks, which is the kiss of death. They are so mistaken. This is why I'm so puzzled whenever I hear the word "Biker Bar" or have group sponsored gathering like "Bike Night" and they have alchohol.

 

[pookamatic]

I have ridden after consuming up to two drinks in the past. Even after waiting one hour for each drink consumed (the approximate time it takes for the average body to process and rid itself of alcohol), I still did not feel 100%. Even though my BAC was very near or at 0%! These activities have to be completely separated.

Sorry about the loss of your friend.

 

[FIZZER6]

Terrible

Hope the driver gets more than a slap on the wrist.

RIP

Agreed. I'm no lawyer but this sounds like a manslaughter case. It would be hard to fight it as an accident if they determined that the driver was DUI. Criminal negligence, Criminal DUI, Criminal manslaughter.

I've trained myself mentally that if I go down on the roadway that if I am conscious I will roll, crawl or drag myself off of the road surface immediately! I've heard of too many cases of people being struck in the roadway these days.

 

[mxgolf]

My thoughts and prayers for your friend and his family. What a shame. 0 tolerance for drinking and driving weather it be car, truck or motorcycle.

 

[DeepEmissions]

I haven't heard much about Charges, but the driver according to stories, thought that the "thing" he hit was an animal... meanwhile it's an early 80's Chevy fulls size truck. So almost no damage whatsoever to this tank on wheels.
Donations were set up a a couple banks here in town, and very quickly, they closed the accounts because the family said that it was "more than enough" to pay for the funeral arrangements. Me and a couple friends that went to school with him anonymously (meaning the family wouldn't know who it came from, other than the name 'Friends of XXXXXX') donated more money into the Mother's personal account. (that wasn't easy, by the way) The way we figured, unless he had real good life insurance, there was no way she had already raised enough to take care of everything.
At least now, we knew he would be taken care of properly.

Thanks everyone,

 

[Nelly]

Mate,
Im so sorry to hear this story about your friend, I hope that he didn't suffer and that justice is served.
Kudos on your support for his family.

Neil