Posted on 07/19/2004 9:01:53 AM PDT by BluegrassScholar
Town of Waukesha - Motorcyclist Daniel Buckel was within 10 feet when he saw the potential disaster stretched across a dark and foggy rural road just ahead.
Disbelief turned to fear, then anger, as Buckel's 2-year-old motorcycle hit a barrier of kitchen-variety plastic wrap that was wound thickly from traffic pole to traffic pole on opposite sides of Guthrie Road, south of Highway I.
The clear plastic trap, which was 3 to 4 feet above the two-lane road south of Waukesha, sent both Buckel and his passenger, girlfriend Theresa Brzykcy, into a bloody slide across the asphalt.
"It's appalling, and it's really frightening," Brzykcy said. "What was their intention? This should make people more aware that pranks like that are not as harmless as they seem.
"They had done a pretty thorough job. It was wrapped around pretty thickly," she recalled.
The malicious prank has Waukesha County sheriff's investigators concerned because other capers involving plastic wrap occurred in the town last year, although none was as serious as the motorcycle crash early Tuesday, Sheriff's Detective Steve Pederson said Friday.
Investigators were planning to canvass homes near the crash site this weekend, looking for information that will lead to a break in the case.
"When something like this happens someone always brags about it," Pederson said. "If anyone has heard anything about this or any other incident involving (plastic) wrap, contact us.
"Maybe someone had seen this happen or removed (plastic) wrap from other areas," he said. "We'd like to know about it."
Last year, a number of parked cars were found bound in plastic wrap to prevent drivers from getting inside the vehicles, Pederson said. Plastic wrap bonds together, giving it strength and making it difficult to remove.
Pederson said investigators were unaware of other incidents of wrap being stretched across a road.
The couple's injuries sent both to Waukesha Memorial Hospital. Buckel, 22, of the Town of Waukesha, required 15 stitches to close a deep gash above his right eye and also broke a finger. Brzykcy, 19, of Brookfield, got a deep cut and bruise to her right cheek along with other scrapes and bruises. The motorcycle was a total loss, Buckel said.
The 1 a.m. ride was supposed to be a short one meant to relax the couple, who have known each other for more than a year. He had just left his bartending job, and she was waiting for him at his family home. Earlier she had taken his mother to a medical appointment.
Buckel said he was driving 5 mph under the 45 mph speed limit because the motorcycle headlight had shone on deer along the road and there was a slight haze from ground fog in the low-lying area.
"I didn't see it," Brzykcy said of the barrier. "He braked so hard I figured it was a deer. My first hit was on him, which totally saved me. Then, I landed on my head (on the road). Everything went white and yellow and red, and I blacked out for a while. I woke up on my back, laying in a driveway."
Buckel, fueled by anger and concern for Brzykcy, fought off his own pain and called 911 on his cell phone, he said. Among the first emergency personnel to arrive was Beckel's best friend, Scott Sommers, a member of the Town of Waukesha Fire Department.
"I ran over to my girlfriend and looked around to see if the pranksters were still around," Buckel said. "I didn't see anyone. When my friend arrived, it made things a lot easier to cope with."
bwaaaaaaaahahahahahahahahahaha...
1 a.m.?????
Er, I would be mighty angry if some fool and his old lady came roaring by on their motorcycle at 1 a.m. I probably wouldn't go to the extent of putting plastic wrap across the road, but still......
They didn't ask and sure don't need your permission.
It's a case of being neighborly and considerate of others. I've gone so far as to not even call out loudly for the cat (she's usually hiding on our property somewhere) after 10 p.m., just to be considerate of others. I'm not advocating the plastic wrap scenario, but it's lack of self-policing and lack of consideration for others that causes unnecessary and burdensome laws and regulations.
Thanks for the insight, Evita.
Think nothing of it, Bubba.
See my post #144 on this thread.
Evita.
Well then what in the hell were you arguing with me for?
Bubba.
Probably because this statement hit me the wrong way. And still does. But I'll get over it.
Evita <|:-)~~
PS - I'm going out for a ride right now, is it ok?
Well, it sounds like you've done your best to "check in" with your neighbors and ensure that none of them had a problem with you recreational activities. Sounds to me like you would be VERY ANGRY with the above-mentioned fool and his old lady for giving guys like you a bad name. Pretty polite and considerate for a
Bubba.
As long as you're not some fool roaring by my house when my a55 is asleep trying to rest up for my workday.
Actually, have a good day.
I'm going out to terrorize the neighborhood now. Alway love to start my day with a weak argument. Gets half the brain going.
Evita. :)
I went from a 1980 KZ650 to a 1985 Sportster (last of the ironheads) and it was a major shocker. It took me 6 months to finally have faith that the thing wasn't going to come apart in a million pieces at any moment. All those clicks clunks and clanks coming from that motor...
I ended up puting about 60,000 miles on that thing before I sold it. The only time it broke down was when a battery terminal broke.
What was the sentence?
Martin, why does your hood ornament have a motorcylcist attached to a Reese's peanut butter cup?
Postmodern artistic interpretation.
And it's a Mallo Cup™, silly.
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