Speeding Motorcyclist Hits Trooper’s Car/NC

[PeteSC]

10/3/2005 2:12:00 PM  Email this article • Print this article  
Speeding Motorcyclist Hits Trooper’s Car

By LISA JOHNSON For The Record

A motorcyclist who was doing wheelies at 135 mph Friday in Boone Trail is lucky he wasn’t killed when he wrecked, according to the state trooper he hit.

Ryan Lee Smith, 23, and Nicholas Ryan Wicker, 18, both of Lillington, were riding their motorcycles on U.S. 421 above Lillington at about 1 p.m. when Mr. Smith wrecked.

Mr. Wicker was in the lead heading north at 130 mph and passed Trooper David Hawkins, who was heading in the opposite direction.

Trooper Hawkins said he pulled over to the side of the road to pursue Mr. Wicker and Mr. Smith, who was following Mr. Wicker, spotted the state patrolman. By that time the trooper had turned his patrol car around to pull Mr. Wicker. However, Mr. Smith, who was doing wheelies at 135 mph, couldn’t slow down in time and hit Officer Hawkins’ car in the right rear bumper.

Mr. Smith and his motorcycle were propelled into the air, flipping over and over before resting several yards down the highway.

Mr. Smith landed on his back on one side of Rogers Road and the remains of his Suzuki 1000 motorcycle was on the opposite side of the street. Mr. Wicker continued down U.S. 421.

Trooper Hawkins got out of his car and ran to where the victim was lying. He told Mr. Smith to lie still and called 911 for medical response. Officer Hawkins said, “Lie still, just lie still. Help is on the way. You were going at least a 140 mph. You could have been killed. Just lay still,” Trooper Hawkins said.

Donnie R. Patterson, who was was traveling two vehicles ahead of Trooper Hawkins, witnessed the wreck.

“I saw the motorcycle, and then the gray car (Trooper Hawkins) turning around. I knew the motorcycle was going too fast and would not be able to stop. I just knew something was going to happen, and someone was going to be hurt. He (Mr. Smith) is lucky to be alive,” Mr. Patterson said.

Members of the Boone Trail Rescue responded to the scene. Mr. Smith was conscious and able to tell them of his injuries. He was complaining with pain of his left shoulder. Mr. Smith was taken to Central Carolina Hospital in Sanford, where he was treated and released.

While investigating the accident, Trooper Hawkins said he saw Mr. Wicker (the first motorcycle driver) try to sneak back to his home a short distance away from the wreck scene.

Officer Hawkins sent other troopers to apprehend Mr. Wicker. They took Mr. Wicker back to the wreck scene.

Trooper Hawkins said Mr. Wicker, when asked why he fled the scene, said, “We were hauling butt and I didn’t even know there was an accident.”

Mr. Wicker was charged with speeding, 130 mph in a 55, careless and wreckless driving. He was released at the scene. Troopers later met with Mr. Smith at the hospital, where he gave his statement and was charged with speeding and driving careless and wreckless.

 

Gotta be the 'Squids of the week'....

[turbo-bob]

 

[Maniac]

Make that 'Lucky Squids of the Week'

Look ma! No brains!  

[PeteSC]

Damn.  Just noticed.   The 'professional journalist' doesn't know the difference between 'reckless' and 'wreckless'.
  I guess I'm overqualified to be a journalist....
  The rider who didn't crash was indeed 'wreckless' that day, but was charged with 'reckless' operation, anyway.

[Red01]

Something doesn't sound right...
Trooper see two oncoming speeding bikes, pulls over and turns around BETWEEN them?
Seems like the cops caused the accident. He should have turned around to pursue after both bikes went by.

[chevsuz12]

I agree with you red.  If that cop knew how fast the second bike was going, then he must have had him on radar.  Therefore, he had to have seen him and then proceeded to make a u-turn in front of him.

I bet the guys on the bikes sue the crap out of the cops, and for a settlement all charges will be dropped.

[PeteSC]

I didn't see any mention of whether the cop put his lights and siren on, or any mention of any investigation into the actions of the cop.
  It was daylight.
   I'm guessing one or both of them misjudged the speed of the other vehicle,  but the majority of the fault is always with the jerk going twice the speed limit.  Pretty much, when you get going that fast on a public street, anything that goes wrong is your fault.  THe kid is lucky he lived.
  I've been on that stretch of US 421, but can't remember if it's 2 or 4 lane.


  I did have a VA state trooper almost hit me in my tractor trailer about a year and a half ago.
  I was heading north on I-95, 20-30 miles north of Richmond, VA.
  This stretch of road is 3 lanes each side, almost always heavy traffic.
  There is a wide, heavily forested median in sections.  Not 'treed', but forested.  You can't see traffic going the other way through the trees.
  There are cut throughs for emergency vehicles every mile or so, but they're virtual 'alleys'.
   Traffic was dense,  but moving fast.  I was in the middle lane, passing some slower vehicle, only doing maybe 67-68 in a 65 zone.
  All of a sudden, the trooper shot out from a cut in the trees, maybe doing 35....
  He just shot out from the trees at speed, across the empty lane closest to him,popped out in my lane right in front of me...turned north, and put his lights on.  You couldn't see him in the median until he popped out of the trees, maybe 25 yards from the pavement...and he was moving fast.
 I nearly flattened him, and was on the air horns!  I was livid.
 He finally accelerates and hauls arse.   I later saw him on the side of the road with a broken down vehicle.

    This was totally stupid, and somebody not paying attention could have creamed the idiot.

       The NC story never mentioned that the cop saw the second bike.
 No telling.    We may never hear all the details.

  Unless the cop did a u-turn in front of the speeding bike without his emergency lights on, I doubt there's much chance of any lawsuit.

   I'm guessing that even though the cop may have encroached on the path of the second bike, the rider continued to screw up, either by delaying action while he decided what to do, planning to outrun the cop by going around him, and not judging the speed of the cop 'correctly'.

We'll see if any lawsuits get filed, but that doesn't prove anything.
  You can attempt to blame anyone, for anything.....and sometimes get money....regardless of your stupid actions.

[Red01]

The NC story never mentioned that the cop saw the second bike.

I gathered he did from this:

Mr. Wicker was in the lead heading north at 130 mph and passed Trooper David Hawkins, who was heading in the opposite direction.

Trooper Hawkins said he pulled over to the side of the road to pursue Mr. Wicker and Mr. Smith,

[PeteSC]

Trooper Hawkins said he pulled over to the side of the road to pursue Mr. Wicker and Mr. Smith, who was following Mr. Wicker, spotted the state patrolman.

 The 'journalist' can't write worth a shit.    I interpreted it as 'the cop pulled over to pursue Mr. Wicker  (COMMA should have been here or started a new sentence) and MR. Smith, who was following Mr. Wicker, spotted the state patrolman."

 Either way, it's sloppy, vague writing or proofreading.  If you read it the way you suggest, the sentence kind of goes all over the place.  Heck, it does anyway....
  I guess I shouldn't have slept through all those English classes, but the way I read it makes sense to me, although, it's vague enough we could all be wrong!

  Hay, I kin knot only spik english, I kin writ it, and eaven reed it!


But then,  we have this...

Officer Hawkins said, “Lie still, just lie still. Help is on the way. You were going at least a 140 mph. You could have been killed. Just lay still,” Trooper Hawkins said.

SO.....it sounds like the cop saw enough to come up with a speed, unless he was just guessing and assuming the unseen squid was riding with the other bike.

  I have it on authority that they deleted the reply from the squid on the ground.....
"Whoa, Dude...did you see that bitchin' wheelie?  Whadya mean, 140...I was like doing 150 for sure, Dude!  Dammit, I tore up some new sneakers...."

 

[Red01]

I agree, the sentence structure SUCKS!