06-06-2019, 02:48 AM
I just now read this, and deep, deep RIP to this rider. A motorcyclist was killed yesterday when he struck the back of a firetruck that was backing into traffic on my street, less than a block from my house.
This happened where my street makes a 90 degree turn. Fast drivers and riders love to take that curve at high speeds, and there are frequent crashes. On both sides of the turn, there are flashing yellow lights, 35 mph speed signs, and due to the frequency of high speed crashes, concrete barriers dividing the two directions of traffic in the curve to prevent head-on crashes.
On a daily basis, I hear every manner of fast vehicle taking that turn at high speed - motorcycles, loud V8s, raspy imports, you name it. For some reason, it's a magnet for speeders. Every few months, that curve is shut down to clear up a crash, and we have to turn around and take "the long way home" to get to our gate.
Late yesterday afternoon, I went home early to work on our washing machine in the garage. I heard a sport bike at full chat heading into that curve, and thought to myself, as I always do, "man, that sounds fast". I didn't hear the sound of the crash, but heard the throttle cut off, figuring that he was through the turn, past the "fun part" of the road, and had throttled back. The fire station is just down from the site of the crash, so if there were sirens at all to respond to the crash, they wouldn't have registered in my mind - I hear sirens from that department all the time.
Later on, my wife called, telling me she was going to be late getting home because the curve was closed again for a crash and she had to turn around to find another way into our complex.
Just looked this morning to see what the crash was, and learned that it was that same bike that I must have heard screaming into the curve. He struck a firetruck that was backing out from a side street. It must have been a very hard hit, as the three fire fighters in the truck were also injured. I pray for the family of the fallen rider, and for the fire fighters.
I go through that curve and pass the site of that crash at least twice a day. Knowing the distance of that side street from the point in the curve where you can see the side street, If I were going anything less than about 55 mph, I'd be able to bring a truck, let alone a sport bike, to a complete stop before I hit anything coming off of that street where the fire truck was. I can't imagine how fast that bike must have been going.
Very, very sad to read.
This happened where my street makes a 90 degree turn. Fast drivers and riders love to take that curve at high speeds, and there are frequent crashes. On both sides of the turn, there are flashing yellow lights, 35 mph speed signs, and due to the frequency of high speed crashes, concrete barriers dividing the two directions of traffic in the curve to prevent head-on crashes.
On a daily basis, I hear every manner of fast vehicle taking that turn at high speed - motorcycles, loud V8s, raspy imports, you name it. For some reason, it's a magnet for speeders. Every few months, that curve is shut down to clear up a crash, and we have to turn around and take "the long way home" to get to our gate.
Late yesterday afternoon, I went home early to work on our washing machine in the garage. I heard a sport bike at full chat heading into that curve, and thought to myself, as I always do, "man, that sounds fast". I didn't hear the sound of the crash, but heard the throttle cut off, figuring that he was through the turn, past the "fun part" of the road, and had throttled back. The fire station is just down from the site of the crash, so if there were sirens at all to respond to the crash, they wouldn't have registered in my mind - I hear sirens from that department all the time.
Later on, my wife called, telling me she was going to be late getting home because the curve was closed again for a crash and she had to turn around to find another way into our complex.
Just looked this morning to see what the crash was, and learned that it was that same bike that I must have heard screaming into the curve. He struck a firetruck that was backing out from a side street. It must have been a very hard hit, as the three fire fighters in the truck were also injured. I pray for the family of the fallen rider, and for the fire fighters.
I go through that curve and pass the site of that crash at least twice a day. Knowing the distance of that side street from the point in the curve where you can see the side street, If I were going anything less than about 55 mph, I'd be able to bring a truck, let alone a sport bike, to a complete stop before I hit anything coming off of that street where the fire truck was. I can't imagine how fast that bike must have been going.
Very, very sad to read.
