Weird thing happened last night.

[donsrods]

My Son Dan and I live together in an apartment complex where he is one of the managers. At 2:30 this morning I was watching TV and Dan was asleep in his room. I heard a motorcycle start up, then a second one, evidently some guests of some residents were going home after a Memorial Day party. Suddenly I hear the one motorcycle start bouncing off the rev limiter and he is holding it there.

I grabbed some clothes and was going out the door when my Son blew by me and said "I'll take care of it." I went outside and my Son had the second motorcyclist stopped and was chewing him out. The first one blew out of the complex at a ridicuous speed and we could hear him cranking for a long distance. We finally let the second guy go and went inside.

Tonight my Son came home from work and said "What time was that motorcycle thing last night?" I told him I had just looked at the TV and it was 2:30 am. Then he told me that a motorcyclist ran through the toll bridge going into Cape Coral at between 90 and 100 mph at 2:35 and the guy hit the bridge construction barrels and flew over the side of the bridge into the river and was killed ! The Cape Coral toll booth is just a few minutes from our home, so it makes sense that the guy we had here was the one who crashed.

The news article I looked up said he was 21 and he was on one of those Ninja crotch rocket bikes, which is what we had the run in with. As much as I feel for his family, the one saving grace is that he only killed himself. Some poor family could have been hit head on and killed too.

I have always hated those kinds of bikes because almost every day I see some idiot driving one like there is nobody else on the road. It also makes me mad to see some young girl hanging on the back while her idiot boyfriend puts both of their lives in jeopardy. If I had a daughter and a guy ever showed up on one of those he would be leaving alone.

Here is a link to the news article.

Don

http://www.abc-7.com/story/18642257/fatal-accident-closes-wb-lanes-of-cape-coral-bridge

 

[RoddingRon]

Sorry for his family, but it sounds like the kid was trouble to start with (just got his license back after a DUI..."wish he would have listened to people to slow down"). Unfortunately, there are to many incidents like this. Growing up, I know of at least two guys who where going to fast on similar bikes with the same results.

 

[TiredIronGRB]

Natural Selection.

 

[donsrods]

I'm like you, Ron, I feel bad for someone dying and for his family, but what he was doing was WAY beyond bad judgement, it was just plain nuts. I wish I could explain how fast he drove through our complex, I don't know how he got through the parking lot at the speeds he was going without wrecking in here. At first I thought I was hearing a stuck throttle because it was over revving like mad and for so long, then I realized it was someone doing it on purpose. That is when we tore out the door after them.

I called the police today and left my name and that I may have some info to help them in the investigation. (about how I am sure the same guys were in here just before the wreck) Also, I think the friend of his who was interviewed in that news story is not saying he was there, but he sure looks like the guy we confronted and stopped on the second bike. I have a sneaking suspicion he was behind him and saw the crash but kept going because he was drinking too.

It was pretty telling when his friends said they tried to tell him he shouldn't be acting and driving the way he was and that he drove at excessive speeds a lot. It just finally caught up with him.

Don

 

[Toad]

It also makes me mad to see some young girl hanging on the back while her idiot boyfriend puts both of their lives in jeopardy. If I had a daughter and a guy ever showed up on one of those he would be leaving alone.

Scares me too and I saw several over the weekend. One kid was zooming in and out of heavy stop and go traffic with a young girl on the back wearing short shorts.

Natural Selection.

Sorry but what he said! Kid had a death wish and sadly it came true!

Toad

 

[donsrods]

I agree that we have to take responsibility for our own actions. If I walk into a store with a gun and hold them up and the store owner has a bigger gun than me, I only have myself to blame for the outcome. Likewise, if I drive a motorcycle 100 mph and blow through a toll booth without paying, who is to blame if something bad happens ?

I didn't care for the one line in the news story where they said they aren't sure how much the construction barricades played into the accident. Are you kidding me, he was going 100 mph in a 15 mph zone and blew through the toll booth without paying!!!!!!! The barricades didn't jump out in front of him, that's for sure.

Don

 

[42chevy]

Sad. Too much power for him and at that age I was never going to die either.

 

[cycledog]

Stupidity and motorcycles, a great combination.

 

[Neverdone]

Natural Selection.

amen.

 

[rustybeercan]

Those of us who've made it to graybeard status learned early on you can only tempt fate so many times! I know I did some stupid things as a kid & paid the price several times but after I saw a few buddy's who thought they were Superman get killed, it didn't take long for it to sink in. I don't care who you are, how good your skills are there's an old saying, Speed Kills! There's a reason people say that, it's true. Things happen fast at speed and you can get killed equally fast too. Good lesson for the young ones! Some people tempt fate many times before it catches up to them and some people ain't so lucky! When my son wanted to get a motorcycle, that did not happen! Just sayin'!

Beercan

 

[roddguy1]

Just one more winner of the Darwin Award. Had me a crotch rocket when I was 18. Got rid of it at 19, for reasons I won't go into, other than to say it's only a matter of time on one of those things. Now everytime I hear or see one I automatically go into "tense mode" were I'm waiting to hear the screech and then crash.

 

[rainman]

Stupid behavior isn't restricted to motorcycles!!
Idiots do it on 4 wheels even more often!!

 

[Dr Crankenstein]

The barricades didn't jump out in front of him, that's for sure.

Don

[cl[cl[cl

That story reminds me of a guy I know who shouldn't be alive. He's had multiple accidents on a bike and the last time he hit a school bus. A freakin' 40 ft screaming yellow school bus! I don't believe it leapt out of the bushes either.

There's no cure for stupid, and rainman makes a good point. Some people should have a bus pass stapled to their birth certificate. Call it proactive natural selection.

 

[donsrods]

I called the Sheriff's Dept today and left a message that I might have some info to share about possibly seeing these guys prior to the wreck. A Deputy called back and I told him everything I knew and that I have no proof but suspect strongly that the guys we had here were the same ones that were in that wreck.

He told me I did fill in a couple of blanks, mostly where they were prior to the wreck, and that it made perfect sense to him that they were the same guys. Just too much of a coincidence given the time frame, location, etc. He asked me if I knew which apartment they were partying at and I told him it could have been any one of 12 apartments on the South side of our unit, and we really didn't know which one. He is going to come out next week and get a statement as to all that I was able to tell him.

He said he couldn't devulge some info but a lot of what I told him confirmed what he already had.

Don

 

[Old Iron]

I called the Sheriff's Dept today and left a message that I might have some info to share about possibly seeing these guys prior to the wreck. A Deputy called back and I told him everything I knew

Don

OK Don, just the facts sir and only the facts (Drag Net)

 

[Dr Crankenstein]

So, are they going to have you and your son ID the other guy? Or do they know enough already?

It would be nice if the media followed through with the whole story once it's known, if only to change one kid's mind about performing the same stunt.

 

[striptnut]

I remember being 21 once. Thought I was bullet proof ! I know I had my parents worried sick during that time. That kids parents were probably the same way. Glad I didnt hurt anybody the way I drove around my cars. I feel sorry for the kids family though. They probably saw" what happened to him" coming. Booze,and bikes,at a young age is on heck of a bad combination. Man that sucks!

 

[timbo]

I had enough bad wrecks on bicycles and never wanted to get on any motorcycle. Was almost rear ended by some idiot on a sport bike riding a wheelie when a couple of cars ahead of me were turning and he got it back down in time and barely missed the back of my 79 Caprice. He flipped me off for not running off the road to give him room I guess. I should have given him a good ole brake check. I wish the were illegal on the streets since 95% of them think they are untouchable.
Tim

 

[sgtpontiac]

Just dropped the mandatory helmet law in Michigan...

The state Catastrophic claims fund is already nearly depleted....they are requiring that MC riders must have 2 years experience on MC's and post a 20,000 medical claim rider with their insurance.....what a joke...20 g's won't cover much when they scramble their brains and are vegetables....guess what....the insurance premiums just went up about 15%....look for other increases at the number of MC accidents with major injuries rise....bad enough to crash with a helmet but without....hardly a chance.....kid's got that new Harley and scares the crap out of me....thank God he has to wear a helmet....here's the kicker for law enforcement.........how the heck do we..cops...know if the rider has 2 years or the 20,000 rider...we can't stop them without them doing something else wrong.....I'll never understand how they come up with this stuff.....[S

 

[Mike S.]

One of the smartest things I ever did was trade my sport bike for a two-owner, '63 Impala, two door, hard top.

One of the dumbest things I ever did was sell the Impala a few months later.