7 killed in motorcycle collision in New Hampshire

This is just tragic.

A 23 year old oxygen thief, previously arrested for DUI in 2013 (when he was still a juvenile) and arrested for DUI again 11 days ago, towing a large 5th wheel trailer with a full-sized 4x4 pickup, collided with TEN oncoming motorcycles, killing seven innocent people.

It's hard to conceive how such a thing could even happen.

Even if the offender crossed the center line, it wouldn't have been a sudden thing- how fast do you think a 4x4 pickup towing a large 5th wheel trailer can change directions- not very. So how the heck did he hit TEN oncoming motorcycles, without any of them taking effective evasive action to avoid the collision? It happened during daylight hours, in clear weather, on a straight flat level roadway with no vision obstructions.

A rider with any skill at all, would have steered away and/or braked as soon as the offender moved onto a collision course. Two traffic lanes would be about 25 feet wide of asphalt, and a motorcycle only needs about a tenth of that (about 2-1/2 feet) to get by.

Even if the first motorcyclist lacked the riding skill to avoid a lumbering truck and trailer crossing into the wrong lane, what about the other nine? Ten motorcycles, at 60 mph (for example), with standard two-second following distances, would be about 1,000 feet long. With a closing speed of 120 mph (60mph + 60mph), that's 176 feet per second. There's no way the offender was driving fully in the oncoming lane crashing into oncoming motorcycles for the six seconds that it would have taken to close that 1,000-foot gap.

Riders have fallen down two FEET in front of me on track, in a corner, and I have still had no problem avoiding the collision- I'm having a hard time visualizing the tenth motorcyclist, sitting back there 1,000 feet away from the initial collision, seeing the first motorcycle get hit, then the second, then the third, then the fourth, then the fifth, then the sixth, then the seventh, then the eighth, then the ninth, and the tenth motorcyclist STILL didn't bother to steer and/or brake effectively to avoid the collision. I'm not understanding how even the second motorcyclist wouldn't have been able to avoid the collision, much less all the rest of them. The only thing I can think of, is that I've seen motorcyclists who don't know how to ride, traveling in tight "formations". That would have made them sitting ducks.

In all the photos I've seen of the scene, I don't see a SINGLE helmet, or a single stitch of any proper safety gear at all.

And the motorcycles that the motorcyclists chose to use, appeared to have been selected for reasons other than their functional capabilities- they look like some of the most lethargically-turning, sloppiest-handling, pathetically braking and utterly impotent motorcycles on the road.

Human life has been assigned an immeasurable value, and motorcycling on public roads carries with it some potentially deadly risks- it only makes sense to obtain competent professional rider training, to wear full and proper safety gear, and to select a motorcycle that can turn, brake, and accelerate to a reasonably survivable degree of competency. It makes no sense to leave your fate in the hands of every single motorist out there, by choosing to take no role in your own survival.

Oops- forgot the link:

https://www.foxnews.com/us/pickup-t...hway-collision-that-left-7-motorcyclists-dead

Yes, I had the same questions and still do. Been waiting for information on this one. Something is missing from this story, it just doesn't make sense

The offender is absolutely the guilty party here, and the courts will deal with him. At the time of this tragedy, his license was revoked for his most recent DUI arrest from 11 days ago. He never should have even been on the road to begin with.

But as a motorcyclist myself, I am concerned about why all those motorcyclists were not able to avoid the collision(s). It happened on a flat straight level dry section of roadway in daylight hours with no vision obstructions- they had to have seen him coming, and probably from a considerable distance. And if they were using standard 2-second intervals between each motorcycle, most of them would have seen him coming from a long ways off, even after he hit the first motorcycle.

I am also concerned about the apparent total lack of proper safety gear. Some of those motorcycles still look operable- some of those motorcycles were not struck head-on, but went down anyway, for whatever reason(s). I've seen riders wearing full and proper safety gear fall down at 150 mph and be back on track 20 minutes later on their other motorcycle.

I'd be real curious to know the level of formal competent professional rider training that each of those people had successfully done, as well as any objectively quantifiable demonstrated level of riding proficiency.

I'd also be curious to know if there were any intoxicants in the systems of any of the motorcyclists involved. It happened at about 1830 hours on a Friday, involving an organized "MC" function with a lot of Harley-Davidsons.

The only scenario I can think of that makes any sense at all, is if they chose to operate cruiser-type motorcycles on public roads, with no proper safety gear, no professional rider training, and maybe had a few drinks beforehand.

So many were killed because accidents happen in the blink of an eye.

As a teenager, corner marshaled (raise the yellow flag when a riding goes down for $15 a day) at Willow Springs International Raceway. Many occasions, witness a grip of wipe-outs with riders getting right back on their bikes.

Bobnoxious said:

So many were killed because accidents happen in the blink of an eye.

Click to expand...

If they were using standard 2-second following distances between each motorcycle, this would have taken about six seconds over a distance of about 1,000 feet, even if no one ever braked- that's a heck of a lot more than the blink of an eye.

The 2019 MSP (Michigan State Police) vehicle test documents that a competent rider is capable of bringing a Harley-Davidson FLHP "Road King" to a complete stop from 60 mph in about 140 feet, and it would take less than three seconds to do it. In this scenario, if the 10th motorcyclist started braking when the truck hit the first motorcycle, it would have taken the offender about another 7 seconds to even get to the 10th motorcycle, even if the truck didn't slow down at all from hitting the first nine motorcycles.

We don't know why the first motorcyclist didn't steer or brake effectively, but there should have been enough time for all of the subsequent motorcyclists to steer around it, and there should have been time for most of them to even brake to a stop before the truck ever got to them.

Bobnoxious said:

As a teenager, corner marshaled (raise the yellow flag when a riding goes down for $15 a day) at Willow Springs International Raceway. Many occasions, witness a grip of wipe-outs with riders getting right back on their bikes.

Click to expand...

Thanks for your service, Bob. The sport needs corner-workers.

...and with all due respects, motorcycle safety gear has come a LONG ways since you were a teenager.

Not sure why the driver of the pickup/trailer was released, but he was... Now he's been arrested in MA and is being brought back to NH to face 7 counts of manslaughter. And yes, he has a history of DUI charges. The MA transportation company he worked for also has been cited for violations in the past.

In today's articles in The Valley News, our local paper, one of the motorcyclists is quoted as saying, of the pickup driver, "He turned hard left into us and took out pretty much everyone behind me."

According to the article, there were a total of 15 cycles carrying 21 people. Sounds like bikes & truck were in the process of passing in opposite directions when the truck swerved to the left, which would explain why cycles were unable to get out of the way.

And yes, tragic. One of the fatalities was a former student of mine who had already buried her husband and one of her two sons recently, both of cancer.

Irvingj, our ski place is on the W slope of Mt Sunapee so we’re about 30 miles S. One of my best friends lives on Mascoma.

By practice, motorcycle fatality threads are not reported on New England motorcycle forums, for various reasons, but everyone is aware.

Very very sad, group of veterans and spouses in a head-on with closing speed probably over 100mph (around 150 FPS) and collision with a pickup towing a trailer. It was their choice to ride without helmets and gear: it may turn out that it wasn’t survivable anyway.

First memorial service May be as soon as Thursday. Mass and NH Patriot Guard Riders will likely be on hand.

irvingj said:

Not sure why the driver of the pickup/trailer was released, but he was...

Click to expand...

That part I can help with.

It's a matter of criminal procedure.

The night of the crash, the police most likely would have arrested him, performed a forcible blood extraction on him under the NH implied consent laws, and then released him without charging him.

The reason they released him, is that the police only have 72 hours after arresting him, to charge him with a crime, and as soon as they charge him with a crime, he has the right to start defending himself- his case could end up in court before the prosecutors have had enough time to prepare their case to prosecute him. So they release him...for now, with the intent of re-arresting him and actually charging him when they are ready to prosecute him.

Now he's been arrested in MA and is being brought back to NH...

Click to expand...

Yes, that happens sometimes. The police in NH have no authority to arrest him in MA, so the police in MA arrest him, and turn him over to the police from NH. The judge will not be amused that he fled- his bail will be very high, or possibly no bail at all.

And yes, he has a history of DUI charges. The MA transportation company he worked for also has been cited for violations in the past.

Click to expand...

Tragic...

In today's articles in The Valley News, our local paper, one of the motorcyclists is quoted as saying, of the pickup driver, "He turned hard left into us and took out pretty much everyone behind me."

According to the article, there were a total of 15 cycles carrying 21 people. Sounds like bikes & truck were in the process of passing in opposite directions when the truck swerved to the left, which would explain why cycles were unable to get out of the way.

Click to expand...

Yes, I know they were oncoming.

Your statement makes it sound like he may have turned left across their path. That would have blocked the entire road, and it may have allowed him to hit the first motorcyclist without leaving the first motorcyclist enough time to stop...but if standard 2-second following distances were being used by the motorcyclists, the second motorcyclist would have been able to brake just about to a stop, and the third through tenth motorcyclists definitely would have been able to brake to a stop- there's no reason that for twelve seconds, nine motorcycles coming from as far as 1,000 feet away would have just ridden into the side of a truck and trailer without even trying to brake.

And yes, tragic. One of the fatalities was a former student of mine who had already buried her husband and one of her two sons recently, both of cancer.

Click to expand...

I'm sorry for your loss. Do you know what her level of formal competent professional rider training was?

Garandman said:

Very very sad, group of veterans and spouses in a head-on with closing speed probably over 100mph (around 150 FPS) and collision with a pickup towing a trailer. It was their choice to ride without helmets and gear:

Click to expand...

I'm with you on all of that...

...it may turn out that it wasn’t survivable anyway.

Click to expand...

A lot of people might whiz right through that last statement of yours, and misconstrue it to mean that it doesn't matter whether motorcyclists wear gear or not.

It MAY not have been survivable for the occupant(s) of the FIRST motorcycle even if they had been wearing proper safety gear...but wearing proper safety gear may also have been the difference between life and death.

As far as the second motorcycle, if they were using standard two-second following distances, proper safety gear definitely would have helped.

And as far as the second third through tenth motorcycles, if they were using standard two-second following distances, they would have been able to stop in time.

...and to touch on the left turn theory again, the offender would have had to slow down to turn left- he wouldn't just whip the steering wheel at 50 mph trying to pull into a driveway.

So since it was daylight, in clear weather, on a flat straight level road, they could see him from a long ways off- even if he failed to signal left, any motorcyclist with any sense at all would recognize that an oncoming vehicle slowing down was an imminent left turn threat, and any motorcyclist with any riding skill at all would have responded appropriately.

My condolences to families and friends of the dead and injured. RIP Fellow riders.

.. of the dead - two were a man and wife riding 2up, another couple riding 2up, a police officer ..
• they were 500' from their destination motel
• a eye witness said the truck crossed the double yellow lines then swerve and jackknifed the trailer

happened at the spot shown in the Google map below, on US-2, a 2-lane road in rural northern New Hampshire. Pickup was westbound, motorcyclists eastbound. - report from NPR, via Capital Public Radio in Sacramento:

CJPJ said:

RIP Fellow riders.

Click to expand...

Are you on BARF?

• a eye witness said the truck crossed the double yellow lines then swerve and jackknifed the trailer

Click to expand...

Can you tell us where are you getting this information from? I don't see it in the link you provided.

happened at the spot shown in the Google map below, on US-2, a 2-lane road in rural northern New Hampshire. Pickup was westbound, motorcyclists eastbound.

Click to expand...

I'm not seeing the image...

Looks like he's an illegal alien- ICE has issued a detainer for the offender:

https://www.masslive.com/boston/201...nh-crash-that-killed-7-motorcycle-riders.html

...and it sounds like my suspicions may have been correct about them traveling in "formation".

In the article linked below, it says that the "President" of their organization was in "second position on a 15-motorcycle line.". I see these types of people all the time, dressing up on the weekends in their "Village People" costumes, assigning each other ridiculous made-up titles regarding non-existent roles for group rides, paying more attention to trying to look cool by traveling in formation than they are about actually riding, intentionally holding up traffic as they wobble from bar to bar, instead of utilizing sensible following distances and just riding their ride.

https://boston.cbslocal.com/2019/06/24/jarheads-mc-randolph-nh-motorcycle-crash/

The offender also has felony drug convictions from 2017, relating to cocaine and heroin:

https://www.newscentermaine.com/art...crash/97-14d95caa-1973-47f4-815e-617e5b3a4edf

He never should have been on the road...he shouldn't even have been in our country.

CJPJ said:

My condolences to families and friends of the dead and injured. RIP Fellow riders.

.. of the dead - two were a man and wife riding 2up, another couple riding 2up, a police officer ..
• they were 500' from their destination motel
• a eye witness said the truck crossed the double yellow lines then swerve and jackknifed the trailer

happened at the spot shown in the Google map below, on US-2, a 2-lane road in rural northern New Hampshire. ////

Click to expand...

Route 2 is a popular motorcycle road in VT, NH and ME. In NH it passes just to the North of the Presidential Range, the highest peaks in the Northeast.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/jarheads-mc-victims-and-families-support

Certainly a tragedy in many ways. In spite of his prior challenges, my personal belief is that the court room is the proper place to convict someone, not internet forums.

The police in the US have a tendency to "salt the public" with information that makes it difficult to find unbiased jurors. His prior offences are irreverent to the current situation.

Its actually surprising that anyone can make it through their teen years and not fall victim to the ridiculous US alcohol laws. "You can be a Marine in a battle zone, but it is too dangerous to have a beer". Simply out of touch with reality. No public vote or congressional vote would have ever passed such a law.