06-07-2019, 02:09 AM
I knew it was inevitable when I was riding home last night. There's a large memorial set up on the street corner, and several people were on the sidewalk holding candles. There were a few bikes parked at the curb at the spot. I wanted to stop, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. My wife left town for the weekend to tend to her parents, and that spot is on our evening walk, so in a few days, I know we'll pass it, and I'll stop and pay my respects. I'm also thinking about my wife's reaction. To my knowledge, she knew there was a crash on our street, but not that it was a motorcycle. She's very accepting of my passion to ride, but she has no interest herself, and having a rider lose his life on our block will no doubt have an effect. She'll ask me how I thought the crash happened, and if I'd ever be in that position.
Also, I'm in the middle of a garage project that had me make multiple trips to the hardware store last night, so I passed the memorial a few more times.
Each time I went through the curve last night, I put myself in a different lane position and waited until I had a clear view of where the firetruck would have been. I used to do accident investigation and reconstruction, so this is rolling over in my mind constantly. From the news footage, the truck hadn't really started to enter the road yet. There were two clear lanes of travel in the bike's direction, and at any speed, even excessive, he would have had a clear view and enough room and time to pass the truck without incident. I can only think that there had to be a contributing factor. Perhaps he was following a car that panic braked when it saw the fire truck, or a car from the side street was trying to get around the truck. Or someone may have been standing in the road to help direct the truck. Something caused that rider to swerve right and hit the truck.
Regarding the firetruck, to your point jimgl3, why was the truck backing into the street? If it were headed back to the fire station a half a block away, it was pointed forward on a street that would have taken it through a winding residential area and eventually back to the station. Was it more convenient to just back up onto the larger street and drive straight to the station? If it had it's lights flashing, did it cause other drivers to react erratically?
Working in the garage until the wee hours, taking advantage of my wife's absence. Late last night, I heard another car, a V8, drop a gear and mash the throttle to speed through the turn. I wondered what his reaction was going to be when he came out on the other side, and flew past a group of people holding a vigil for someone who just lost his life there. Truly sad.
Also, I'm in the middle of a garage project that had me make multiple trips to the hardware store last night, so I passed the memorial a few more times.
Each time I went through the curve last night, I put myself in a different lane position and waited until I had a clear view of where the firetruck would have been. I used to do accident investigation and reconstruction, so this is rolling over in my mind constantly. From the news footage, the truck hadn't really started to enter the road yet. There were two clear lanes of travel in the bike's direction, and at any speed, even excessive, he would have had a clear view and enough room and time to pass the truck without incident. I can only think that there had to be a contributing factor. Perhaps he was following a car that panic braked when it saw the fire truck, or a car from the side street was trying to get around the truck. Or someone may have been standing in the road to help direct the truck. Something caused that rider to swerve right and hit the truck.
Regarding the firetruck, to your point jimgl3, why was the truck backing into the street? If it were headed back to the fire station a half a block away, it was pointed forward on a street that would have taken it through a winding residential area and eventually back to the station. Was it more convenient to just back up onto the larger street and drive straight to the station? If it had it's lights flashing, did it cause other drivers to react erratically?
Working in the garage until the wee hours, taking advantage of my wife's absence. Late last night, I heard another car, a V8, drop a gear and mash the throttle to speed through the turn. I wondered what his reaction was going to be when he came out on the other side, and flew past a group of people holding a vigil for someone who just lost his life there. Truly sad.