Watched a Man Die Today..

T

te

Registered
Was playing golf down here in Deland Fl....great day, 80° degrees...everybody was out...We were on the 8th hole which borders a side road...We heard two motorcycles come around the turn and launch into a full blown street race...as they went by, I looked up further and saw a pickup truck coming to stop sign at a cross street off of the 9th tee.....

I could not believe the setup I was witnessing and said "OH GOD NO!" to myself..Too late, the pickup pulled out right in front of them...I closed my eyes as 1 bike hit his bed and the other one (he was losing the race) shut down just in time....the guy who hit the truck flew almost 100 yards and disappeared from sight...the sound of him hitting was sickening and we knew he was dead....its a sound you cant describe, you just know..the impending 2 minutes of silence waiting for sirens was deafening..we called 911 but they were already enroute as they were looking for these guys anyway...it quickly became a public spectacle...I continued the golf game..

The facts known tonight:
1 dead, 33 year old male, no helmet, speed listed at 135mph, they found one of his arms in a porch of a house after it flew thru the window...other racer was long gone.

So, it was his turn today, the rest of us are spared for the time being.

te
94 Gen1
164k miles
 
RE: Watched a Man Die Today..

That's terrible.......It's just another example of what reckless driving will do.
 
RE: Watched a Man Die Today..

As you all know, I am an avid motorcycle rider/racer. This is the number one reason I always say "SAVE IT FOR THE TRACK". This goes for those here who also do racing on the streets in their cars. The human body is a very frail thing when it comes in contact with an imoveable object. As TE noted, in a wreck on a bike, the body literally comes apart. It's no joke. As an expert rider, I'm frequently asked to instruct newer riders. Before I even show them how to turn a key on, I show them the grisly collection of motorcycle fatality pics I have on my PC. I tell them "This is what happens when you ride like a *%$#@&^ on the street." One younger kid, after he saw the photos decided he didn't want a bike afterall, and told me "he couldn't trust himself to own one" and was glad he saw the pics.

No helmet? Never. People die from wearing no helmet when they merely TIP OVER on a pedal bike. But at speed? Forget it. People break my balls because I spent $1200 on my helmet. You know..the helmet that protects my brain? I wear leathers AND Kevlar body armor. I probably have in excess of $5000 in safety gear for motorcycle and snowmobile riding.

I'm also one of those "jerks" who sent a letter applauding my government for trying to pass a law to seize/impound and sell vehicles of people caught street racing. Street racing is bad, bad news. When not racing at the track for money or comeptition, I'll go to the test and tune Fridays. $20 for all the hooliganism you can handle. Cheap price to pay if you ask me.

So everyone here..please...SAVE IT FOR THE TRACK. Racing on the street isn't worth it. Remember it only takes something to happen ONCE to change your life forever. Please..use your head. It isn't worth it.

And Te...I'm really sorry you had to see that. It's a terribly helpless feeling. I was once riding around a bend, and the guy behind us pushed it too hard, flipped off, and was nailed by a car that couldn't stop in time. Helpless..it's just a terrible feeling to see a life snuffed out when it didn't have to happen. Hope you feel better.
 
RE: Watched a Man Die Today..

At least it was quick with him. A friend of a friend of mine was riding with her boyfriend when they had a spill at high speed (I don't remember the circumstances). He died instantly, but she hit a telephone pole at the end of her "flight" and survived. However, she sustained severe head trauma and brain damage because of it. While she's not a complete vegetable, as my friend puts it, she's "not the same person" today.
 
RE: Watched a Man Die Today..

When i read the word "die", how did i know this would be a story about a motorcyclist?
 
RE: Watched a Man Die Today..

When I was alot younger I used to mess around on motorcycles. Enduro bikes, off road ATV's street bikes. They were alot of fun, but I was always a safe rider. I was also too young to be so stupid.

As I got older, and into cars, and eventually into drag racing, I became more and more addicted to the adrenaline rush you feel when you drop the hammer on a 750hp car, and the front wheels dangle in the air for what feels like 100 feet. Your eyeballs roll back into their sockets, and your arms strain to reach forward and steer/shift the car.

That is why I will never own a motorcylce again. Much like RRocket said about the kid who saw the pictures: I know myself well enough to know that if I had a motorcycle now, I would be dead by next week. Unfortunate as it may be, I have the forsight to know that I would push it too far.

I admit, I "get on it" on the street every now and then. I do not "street race" per say, but I have engaged in a "contest of speed" in my car(s). usually for just a few second...long enough to know who's got who beat...but also long enough to know...better than to be doing it.

The track folks. I too stress that. It is 14-15(or quicker!!!) seconds of pure adrenaline. You dont even notice you are breathing. You stage the car/bike, the lights come on, and you drop the hammer. Floor it, hear the motor screaming, feel the shifts, hang on, and enjoy. Live to see another day.

Te...the visual will fade over time but you will never forget what you saw. You will never forget that sound. But as long as you are here, do what you are doing. Tell others about the horror you witnessed. It made you stop in your tracks, and really think about how quickly life changes. And since you shared it with us, you have "spread the sign" even farther. I'm sorry you had to be one of the "ones" who saw that. Life teaches us all lessons at very strange times. When you left the house to play the links, you had no idea that your life would be changed forever too.

Even the person in the truck will never be the same.

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RE: Watched a Man Die Today..

When I was at Ft Lee Va, going through some training we lost one of our drill instructors to a motorcyle accident. Over 100 mph around a curve and he hit a tree. His bottom half was still on the bike and his top half was in the field about 130 yards away. This hit me pretty hard because I was just talking to the guy the day before. I know how to ride, but I'm scared to death of bikes and can't bring myself to buy one.
 
RE: Watched a Man Die Today..

Bike week 2004 starts here in Daytona Beach on Friday.....We will have 500,000+ bikers county wide for ten days....We lose usually up to a dozen in crashes, but after 3 this weekend in Volusia county alone..(all had no helmets) this could be a BAD one...
te
94 Gen1
164k miles
 
RE: Watched a Man Die Today..

People who ride without helmets are only slightly worse off than those who wear cheap helmets.

The person without the helmet may just die quicker.

I saw an add once that said: "If you have a 10 dollar head, wear a 10 dollar safety helmet"

I watched my brother-in-law lay in a vegatative state for 8 years
before finally passing away after a minor, low speed motorcycle accident in which he was wearing an old WWII style steel helmet.

Last month my niece's boy friend was hit by a car while he was riding his bicycle and was not wearing a helmet, he is not expected to recover. He is/was 19.

I agree with RRocket, use the best safety equipment and keep it on the track.
 
RE: Watched a Man Die Today..

I agree with you on street racing.I had a friend that was killed in september by some #@%& for brains 20yr old girl that thought it would be a good idea to street race went around a turn and nailed my friend on his harley doing over 90 mph and killed him instantly.He was just crossing an intersection . So if you think about street racing ask that dumbass girl that is now in jail for the next 10-15 yrs..
 
RE: Watched a Man Die Today..

Yet another reason I won't get a bike-man I love em' and rode the best of em once but some reality always hits hard!
 
RE: Watched a Man Die Today..

Sorry about that te.

Didn't it piss you off? I mean here you are, minding your own business, golfing; relaxing, when some idiot gets himself dead and messes with your mind. Now you have to think about it, feel for this idiot and his family, contemplate your own mortality, etc.

Stupid people suck.

Then again...what better way to go? Winning a race; adreniline pumping...then a split second of "oh crap!" right before impact. I feel for the family.
 
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