Posted on 06/21/2019 10:58:03 PM PDT by BenLurkin
Seven motorcyclists were killed and three others injured when they collided with a pickup truck going the opposite direction in New Hampshire, police said.
Authorities received a call around 6:30 p.m. Friday about a motor vehicle crash on Route 2 in Randolph, New Hampshire State Police Capt. Chris Vetter said.
The pickup truck, a 2016 Dodge 2500, was traveling west on Route 2 while the motorcyclists were traveling east, police said.
State police collision analysis and reconstruction teams are investigating the crash, and will continue overnight in conjunction with local police and the Coos County Attorney's Office.
"Route 2 is closed for the foreseeable future. The scene is pretty large and there's a lot of work to be done," Vetter said. "I don't know that I have ever seen a crash with this much loss of life. It was a pretty significant accident."
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
My guess: bikers blindly followed the leader, and weren’t wearing helmets.
I've never been on one...and never will.I value my life too much.
“My guess: bikers blindly followed the leader, and weren’t wearing helmets.”
I’m well over a quarter million miles on two wheels. I do not like group rides for this reason. Just too much congestion. As far as helmets, I’m a safety gear fanatic, but they can’t work miracles in a situation like this.
Other reports are saying that the motorcycle riders were part of a.club made up mainly of Marine. Veterans.
It was motorcycle week last week and biker groups stick around to finish out a vacation. The roads are filled with groups of 10 or more. New Hampshire doesn’t have a helmet law and that might have contributed to the deaths.
Looks to me like the skids marks start before they cross the center line.
It is common for a vehicle struck in their lane to lose control then cross the center line.
From the Portland Press Herald (ME) website:
“Charlie St. Clair, executive director of Laconia Motorcycle Week Association, which host one of the state’s biggest rallies in June, said he couldn’t recall an accident of this magnitude involving bikers in the state. He wasn’t on the scene but said had been fielding calls about the accident much of the night. St. Clair said he heard the riders were mostly Marine veterans who belonged to the same motorcycle club.”
Perhaps the driver of the truck suffered a sudden health emergency (stroke or heart attack)?
Gary is a good friend of mine and it's a miracle he survived. He and part of his bike ended up under the truck and his wife was thrown over the truck and into oncoming traffic where she was killed instantly.
Gary spent about a month in a coma and has undergone many surgeries to put his body back together. He lost sight in one eye but is back playing senior softball....
Some call me an old fogy.Some even called me that at 30.
I plead guilty on both counts.
“I do not like group rides for this reason. Just too much congestion.”
I’m surprised there aren’t more bicycle groups wiped out like this.
After a motorcycle accident in Bermuda about 5 years ago, I swore I would never ride again unless it was a closed course. Got cut off by a car entering the bridge returning from St. George’s island. Major road rash, helmet (thank God we were wearing them) ground down to to the point where our sunglasses were knicked by the pavement. We keep our bloodied clothes as a reminder. The emergency responders or someone on the scene stole her Tag watch while we were unable to move, they left my Rolex because it is not a flashy one and looks like a cheaper watch.
I believe that is a fifth wheel trailor being pulled by the pickup.
I know three people who have one leg shorter than the other due to motorcycle accidents. I have a relative who is a vegetable due to thinking he could turn on to a road before a car got there. I have another relative who suddenly stopped riding his when he had too many "what if" moments.
On the lighter side, when I was in high school I saw a friend of Sonny Barger try a wheelie from a stop and ended up on his back without his motorcycle. It was hard not to laugh, but I didn't want to die young.
A lot of things could have caused the truck driver to lose control, anything from a blowout to that empty 5th wheel trailer yawing. Looking at the damage on the tailgate there was some pretty serious motion, maybe even jackknifed. But, that could have occurred as a result of the accident or even after, rather than being the cause. The truck being on fire says very serious impact at some point.
And they say Bermuda is supposed to be the "safe" island. Yeah right . . .
Bikers are really stupid these days around here. I come around a curve and they are leaning over into my lane crossing the yellow line. There are 2 or 3 killed per year. I used to ride a bike and always stayed in my lane near the white line. These guys today ride the center.
Typical, CNN news coverage is all headline, no report. Most infantile reporters out there.
Smart man. I sold my last bike in the summer of 1980. Had I kept it, I doubt I would be in this dimension typing on my computer keyboard.
A few years back in the Augusta GA area we had a group ride and one of the motorcycles got hit by a car and sent flying through the group of other riders. It was like a bowling fall going through bowling pins.
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