Vigilance isn't enough. Please be safe.

[LongRanger_imp]

I lost a dear friend yesterday. Suzanne was a 40+ year rider, Iron Butt competitor, always ATGATT (including neon yellow reflective vest and multiple reflective strips on her helmet and the back of her R1200RT), and her bike had a very bright flashing LED Hyperlite brake light. She was a very conscientious and safety-oriented motorcyclist. The accident occurred in the middle of the day. This has shaken me to the core.

Being uncertain who has heard more detail since yesterday’s message, this is going to everyone.

Steve, Suzanne, and another couple were in the midst of an afternoon ride, northbound on U.S. 85 waiting at a red signal to turn left into Sedalia. They were in the left turn lane with Steve leading and Suzanne in the last position. The lights for northbound traffic are red. Steve recalls hearing (a pop?) a helmet bouncing across the southbound side of the road as he was looking slightly left, and he saw Suzanne's helmet moving away. He turned to the right and saw Suzanne on the east side of the road. He did not see the hit & run vehicle that hit Suzanne and ran the light. Three nurses were close by and were the first to assist Suzanne. Someone notified 911, deputies and the Patrol responded quickly, and later the paramedics. Someone gave a good enough description to the 911 dispatcher that an alert deputy further north was able to apprehend the hit & run driver within minutes. It is likely Suzanne never knew what happened. She was a tissue donor. Memorial plans are pending. Steve indicates, "No calls, please, for now."

Thanks to you who used Facebook to spread the news. Suzanne had more friends than we know. Please try to keep them in the loop.

 

[jedd_imp]

oh my....this is just awful. So sorry to hear about this. Thoughts and prayers go out to Suzanne family and loved ones.

 

[Rocky_imp]

I don't know the lady, but whenever I hear of these terrible events I am totally dismayed.
What a terrible, terrible shame!
We can only do what we can do to be safe and just take our chances.
I hope they prosecute that idiot to the fullest extent of the law.
Good on the cops for a swift arrest

 

[LongRanger_imp]

Thanks guys. I know there are motorcycle fatalities every day, but this really makes me furious. She wasn't speeding, she wasn't drunk, she didn't overshoot a curve, she didn't lock up her brakes, she wasn't unprotected, she wasn't inconspicuous, she had lots of training, she had her endorsement, she wasn't a newbie, she wasn't on an unfamiliar bike, she wasn't fatigued, she wasn't lost, it wasn't nighttime, it wasn't raining... All the stereotypical risk factors that can increase the odds of an accident, and all the stuff we all try to avoid to just survive a ride.

 

[emptysea]

Sorry for your loss, LR.

 

[the Ferret]

Thanks guys. I know there are motorcycle fatalities every day, but this really makes me furious. She wasn't speeding, she wasn't drunk, she didn't overshoot a curve, she didn't lock up her brakes, she wasn't unprotected, she wasn't inconspicuous, she had lots of training, she had her endorsement, she wasn't a newbie, she wasn't on an unfamiliar bike, she wasn't fatigued, she wasn't lost, it wasn't nighttime, it wasn't raining... All the stereotypical risk factors that can increase the odds of an accident, and all the stuff we all try to avoid to just survive a ride.

So sorry for your loss LR, truly.

but it just goes to show you can do everything right and still terrible things can happen. Every time we mount up we are at risk. I try not to think about it too much.

Glad they caught the SOB and hope he/she gets to stare at 4 concrete walls for a long time contemplating what they did.

 

[silverbub_imp]

LR...I do not know you personally... nor her that you mention who suffered this tragedy...I do have moist eyes right now & it is not just because of the dilated eyes from my eye exam a couple hours ago... over 11 years ago the motorcycle-safety journalist/instructor Larry Grodsky wrote that we should/need to constantly be checking our mirrors because in his words: "They're coming to get us from the rear"!... and then a deer crossed his path a few short month after his monthly column & that was his fatal "accident"... Too many personal demerits I have given myself on my rides where someone from behind has come within my personal "safety-space" on a ride... we do the best we can & then we take our chances... and the distracted drivers are decreasing our chances it seems... truly sorry to read your post of sorrow & grief...

 

[clearviewx]

My condolences. Did they say if the driver who hit her was impaired or distracted?

 

[LongRanger_imp]

I haven't heard yet. Another good friend, a lady R1150RS rider, was stopped in a construction zone on the interstate about an hour north of here and was rear-ended by a drunk. Same thing -- middle of the day, conspicuous ATGATT... She was killed and the drunk got 3 years probation.

 

[kvdv_imp]

So very sorry to hear this, LongRanger. I think about this sort of thing ALL the time, on or off the bike, wishing I could come up with a fool-proof way to avoid just such a situation. I guess the only answer is to not ride at all, but that just wouldn't do. Such a sad thing...

 

[Cormanus]

LongRanger, I’m so very sorry for your loss.

I am at a stage of life where people I know are dying of cancer and other diseases. They all seem too young to me. That brings one face to face with one’s own mortality. Somehow, this makes even more incomprehensible the appallingness of the increasing number of random acts of senseless violence in which people going quietly about their business are harmed by other cruel, stupid or incompetent people.

 

[use2b_imp]

Very Sad and I feel your pain as i have been there a few times before.
Last Bike night friends who rode bikes with me in middle school all told me they ware thinking about hanging it up as i did also but deep in my heart i know i never will.

It is sad it ended this way but was a joy while it lasted. RIP

 

[Blockhead_imp]

LongRanger, so sorry to hear about your friend...sad news.

 

[the Ferret]

LongRanger, I’m so very sorry for your loss.

I am at a stage of life where people I know are dying of cancer and other diseases. They all seem too young to me. That brings one face to face with one’s own mortality. Somehow, this makes even more incomprehensible the appallingness of the increasing number of random acts of senseless violence in which people going quietly about their business are harmed by other cruel, stupid or incompetent people.

Excellent point Cormanus. One of the reasons I started riding even more this year, was because of my friend John dying of cancer. As I visited him at hospice and watched him wither away, I vowed to enjoy each day as best I could. I wanted to feel the wind, feel the sun on my face, feel the rain, the heat, and the cold... things John would never feel again.

 

[Houtman_imp]

Very sorry to hear about the accident.
I do not know the details but why on earth are we making pot legal , There are already enough distracted drivers on the roads.
Are we adding even more with the dope heads ?

 

[suhawk305]

My condolences LR.

As far as your other friend killed by a drunk driver, probation is not enough! No excuse, jail for manslaughter is warranted in my opinion.

 

[cooldrum_imp]

Sorry LongRanger, It's always a shock when people close to us is taken so quickly. Each time I go for a ride, I remind myself if "You think they're gonna do it, they'll do it."( In reference to car drivers)
There are just some things we cannot see, even if we're super defensive when out on the roads. I'm well aware every time I gear up and go for a ride, there is that element of risk in regards to our sport.
Thank You for sharing about the accident and how it impacted you and as a reminder for all of us to gear up and drive defensively.

 

[Offroad]

So sorry to hear about your loss....I know it's happening all the time....like Ferret I try not to think about it or I would never ride again.

 

[F800GT_imp]

My condolences to Steve, Suzanne's family and to you LR.

Will pray for Suzanne and to all of her family members and friends.

 

[Guth_imp]

LongRanger, like the others, I'm very saddened by this news and sorry for your loss.

My thoughts are with you and all those who were close to your friend Suzanne.