Motorcyclist was doing 'wheelies' before fatal crash
 

UPDATED ON PAGE 6


This just happened over the weekend, fairly close to where I live. I'm sure that's all she was wanting for Thanksgiving. RIP

Stupid

WHITEWATER TWP. – The motorcyclist who hit and killed a woman as she pulled her 2004 Chevrolet Cavalier into her driveway Sunday night was doing “wheelies” just before the crash, according to a 911 phone call released Monday morning.

“There was a guy doing wheelies down (Ohio 128) and he has just wrecked,” said Matthew Laney, who lives nearby, when he spoke to a Hamilton County operator.

Lynda Colegate, 55, was turning left into her driveway in the 7000 block of Ohio 128 just before 5 p.m. when a 1999 Honda 900 RR motorcycle headed in the same direction hit the driver’s side, according to the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office.

She was pronounced dead at the scene. She was not wearing a seat belt. Her cause of death has not been determined by the Hamilton County Coroner’s Office, said Terry Daly, agency spokesman.

The motorcyclist, Bobby J. Luke, 27, of Aurora, Ind., was taken to University Hospital, where he remains in stable condition.

He also was not wearing a safety restraint or a helmet. He was thrown about 30 feet onto the concrete, Laney told the dispatcher.

“He rolled thankfully in the grass a little bit,” Laney said.

According to Hamilton County court records, Luke was pulled over for speeding Sept. 16, when an officer caught him going 83 mph in a 55 mph zone while driving a 1998 Dodge Ram. He has been found guilty of other traffic violations in the last few years, including driving an unsafe, overweight vehicle in June and speeding in 2002.

At the time of the crash, authorities said Luke was trying to pass several cars in a no-passing zone, sheriff’s officials have said. The crash remains under investigation. Alcohol is a factor, according to the sheriff’s office.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...98_640X480.jpg



http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs...S01/311230013/


http://www.local12.com/mediacenter/l...com&navCatId=5

uh... wtf? what kind of safety restraint would he be wearing? Any sort of restraint couldn't be considered a safety item as it'd make is injuries 100x worse.

That being said...

DOUCHEBAG!

RIP Ms. Colegate.

cause of death not determined? wtf... it was caused my dude being a fuck'n tool.

sad to hear, we had a guy die here last week he was in his 20's and got married 9 days before his death, :td:

We should outlaw sportbikes since the masses are simply incapable of handling them.

<sarcasam>

sadly... that's a common view of a lot of people I've talked to... and stories like these do nothing but reinforce it.

I just hope all the attention whores, adrenaline junkies find another fix before it ruins the sport/hobby/passion for the rest of us

The second he steps out the hospital, they'll arrest him.

All those violations and he's still allowed on the road.

FF that's sad :(

But seriously... a motorcycle with a safety restraint? O.o

Just for the sake of being on the other side of this...

1. As reported he hasn't had any motorcycle related violations. In fact, they went all the way back to 2002...:panic:

2. He may have been doing wheelies BEFORE the accident but no one is accusing him of doing them during the accident.

3. Perhaps if the lady had been wearing her seat belt... just saying.

4. "Alcohol is a factor" but not necessarily for the rider.

5. Who's to say that this lady didn't turn right in front of this guy?

In fact maybe she was drunk and driving super slow, causing a back up. This dude gets impatient and attempts to pass too many cars and the drunk chick decides to make that left turn she's been thinking about for a 1/2 mile...:idk:

Beat me to it. Horrible writing and horrible editing.

I was kind of thinking along the same lines. If he hit the driver side and she was turning left, then he was passing her (or other cars + her). How fast was he going to make the pass? I can't tell from the picture, but is that an area where he can safely pass, or was he crossing a solid yellow to pass? Too many factors to know for sure...

Dickwad was "attempting to pass several cars in a no passing zone"...isn't that what it stated ? Put a fork in him...he's done...just sayin'. :idk:

Did this woman put her turn signal on well in advance? Knowing most Americans, probably not. "Oh I'm just pulling into my home, I don't need to use my signal"

And I like this:

So?

I'm pretty sure the average person gets a ticket every 1-2 years, so unless I see proof otherwise, this guy doesn't sound unusual.

yeah forget that whole passing in a no passing zone.........then there's the passing several cars.


sheesh bikers car do no wrong.


guy died here recently practicing wheelies, ran into a building, 2nd time i've heard of tht over the yrs.

:lol: No kidding. It doesn't really matter if she signaled or not since it was a NO PASSING ZONE...and he was attempting to pass several cars. :wtfru:

Oh I hate when people don't signal but no passing means no passing...not too hard to figure out imho. :idk:

Darwin missed.

RIP Ms. Colegate.

The majority of you just said you pass on a double yellow all the time....

Guess you're only an idiot for doing that if it doesn't work out for you.

I was thinking along the same lines, Tigger. Regardless if he's at fault for not though, he still makes it seem pretty damn hard not to point in that direction.

The "attempting to pass several cars" is only alleged.

For all we know, he had already passed those cars awhile ago, and all their little egos got hurt, so they talk shit about him.

That would be correct like in this case...killing someone.

It's not wise to pass in a no passing zone and especially when there are potential left turns that others may take. That's one reason I for one don't pass on a double yellow all the time.

When I do...I make sure there are no places for anyone to make a left in to or for anyone to turn out of. Passing more than one car also raises the risk because what if one of them also decide to pass on the double yellow ?

So, you're just as bad. You've just been incident free so far.. :idk: The only difference being, he had a car pull out in front of him. You haven't yet...

That's true Johnny Cochran...that could be. :rofl:

I do not pass multiple cars and I do not pass in neighborhoods or where there are any turn offs. I am VERY picky about my locations I choose to pass.

I have seen and heard of this happening too many times however. Often the reason cars are backing up is because the front car is looking for a road to turn on to. They are not checking their mirrors for someone to pass them if they are in a no passing zone. Very sad to see this happen. Be patient people! Getting up the road a few seconds faster isn't worth hurting yourself/others to make a bad pass.

Edit since I can't seem to make this site work properly from my phone or work..

I would also like to point out, that you're likely to pass several cars in a no passing lane. This is due to cars bunching up. If they weren't bunching up, there's usually no reason to pass aside from wanting to haul ass.

But, you STILL do it?

I will pass a single car after careful planning of where to pass and of there being no place for them to turn left. I also will wait for miles to see if the car will pull over or if a passing lane will open up. I very rarely pass on the double yellow on a curve.

If this was just one car on a straight away with no turn offs..this would not have happened

I missed my true calling :rofl:

Oh I know that... I'm not sure that's a "capitol crime"... I've seen several members of this board pass cars in a no passing zone. I haven't read the responses yet but I bet at least a couple are already on here. I'm sure they are swearing that they never make illegal passes, etc, etc, etc.:lol:

:lol: :cheers: Hey if I was the guy that screwed up in this situation I would want someone helping/representing me that looked at all angles too...wouldn't we all ?

I'd like to think I wouldn't ever get myself in this situation though.

:lol: I know..I know....

Oh I know, I just like stirring up the self righteous hypocrites here.:lol: I'm sure none of them have ever passed in a no passing zone... of course not.:lol:

Huh? I appreciate wanting to argue for the sake of arguing, but that doesn't make any damned sense.

And to the best of my recollection, I've never deliberately passed someone in a no-passing zone. I'm a very defensive driver.

Oh I have...not that you were addressing me :lol: BUT when you take that chance and you fail...it's on you. I just find it funny when everyone automatically defends the biker and blames the person he slammed in to...when again...it was a no passing zone...he played...he lost...time to pay the piper. :idk:

Ok...what if that was your mother...sister...or "woman" in the car ? Two sides to everything I guess.

Can anyone tell if that was a GSXR ? :rofl:

I'm not saying that but "alleging" that this guy was "doing wheelies" prior to the accident has nothing to do with the accident itself. Besides, I have personally been in the situation where I was pulled over by a cop because he got a call that someone on a sport bike was doing wheelies. If a bike came by doing a wheelie at any time during the day, of course, it just had to be this guy after the accident!!!:lol:

The only reason that wheelies were mentioned was to "spice" up the story. If this accident had occurred between two cars, it would have hardly made the paper. I'm more interested in the fact that "alcohol was involved" personally. You love focusing on "evil sport bike riders", I one the other hand, have a huge hatred of people who drink and drive. There are no lower forms of life, IMHO! You've read one article where a bike actually killed a person in a car. Let's compare that with the number of drunk drivers who have killed people on bikes? Or even in other cars. I would rather take 50 guys doing wheelies on their bikes than even one of you assholes who just "have a couple beers" and drive your cars home.:panic:

Just because you can't figure it out, doesn't mean it makes no sense.

I'd explain it, but I'd likely be wasting my time trying to explain common sense.

Cars are more likely to bunch up in a no passing zone, because they can't pass legally, therefore, there is more likely to be a longer line of cars in a no passing zone..

This is why I hate all forms of news media. Everything get sensationalized. The guys driving record isn't that bad, no proof was ever made that this guy was the one doing wheelies and the story never stated who was drinking. That facts are she turned left and he ran into her. This isn't even news worthy but a motorcycle was involved so the media spices it up to bring more negativity to the riding community. :td:

CBR900RR... see if he had been riding a fast bike, he might have made it!:lol:

If my mom was out driving drunk and she turned into some dumb ass making a stupid pass, I would still try to see both sides. Honestly. There are several sides to this story. I like how some dumass on this board jumped up and condemned this guy because of all of his traffic violations... I'm like whoopie doo!!!:lol:

More to the fire:

If he was in fact passing on the left, in a no passing zone, that would indicate a double yellow line. If the woman was making a left into her driveway across the double yellow, she is also at fault.

Exactly!!! The guy was an impatient dumb ass to be sure but I've seen this same maneuver many times. I honestly also avoid passing on double yellow and I try not to pass multiple targets because you never know what the front vehicle is up to... but I won't condemn another person for doing something even if I've only done it once. That is the very definition of hypocrisy.:whistle:

Exactly. And if the cars are bunched up close together and you're itching to pass on a double yellow, chances are you'll pass more than one rather than squeeze between two of them.

down here, they have a break in the double yellows for side streets and such.

You lost me there, how does that work?

Here too...but not driveways. People do stop (on state highway two-lanes), and make lefts into their drives...across the double yellow...and usually traffic just flows around them, on the low shoulder. I've even seen NJ State Troopers pass someone making a left on the low shoulder in a flow of traffic...yet I'm pretty sure that stopping and making a left into a driveway across the double yellow is wrong.

:rofl: Had to throw the GSXR remark in there...glad it wasn't an R1. :lol:

I agree if the woman was drunk then that's bad too but it still falls back on passing in a no passing zone unless her turn was illegal....right ?

Yeah I never mentioned his driving record because that shouldn't really matter except maybe in court when they are trying to attack his character I guess.

So if it was the guy on the bike that was drunk how are all of you biker defenders going to take up for him then ? Better call Johnny. :lol:

Yea me too.... what do people have to drive around to a safe turn around or something? Like go up a couple blocks turn left, left, left and then right to get into their driveways?:idk:

In new jersey they do :lol:

Tom

Yes, it's the law in most of the state's roads.

Left lane is for passing. All turns from right lane.

:lol: Reason #476 not to move to New Jersey...

Except that in theory, it prevents the very accident scenario that spawned this thread.

2 wrongs don't make a right but 3 lefts do. :lol

did you know UPS plans their routes to take as few a left turns as possible.....


less chance for accidents like this and cross traffic......

QFTplusoneTruthThis.

But not signalling to tun into your laneway must be a capitol punishment, because a lady died for doing it, and people are condeming her for not signalling.

I pass on the double yellow, but not if I am in town, near peoples driveways, or when traffic slows suddenly, as if someone were turning up ahead.

:lmao:

So again, you're guilty of doing it, you've just been lucky so far..


Keep in mind, had you passed and made a mistake, the same ppl would be happy that you're dead or injured...

Not guilty, since it is not illegal in Ontario.

What's the point of a solid line if it is no different than a broken line? :scratch:

It is a recommendation not to pass, but it is not law.

HERE IS AN UPDATE FROM THE LOCAL NEWSPAPER

Fatal crash driver had long record
Motorcyclist had two licenses suspended

By Sharon Coolidge • scoolidge@enquirer.com • November 24, 2009



A man accused of crashing a motorcycle into a woman's car and killing her Sunday evening should never have been on the road, his driving record shows.

Indiana labeled Bobby J. Luke, 27, a habitual traffic violator in January, suspending his driver's license for five years, records show.

That's on top of a lifetime suspension of his commercial's driver's license, which was based on two prior drunken driving convictions, according to the same records.

Ohio honors out of state driver's license suspensions.

Luke, of Aurora, Ind., was arrested Tuesday on a charge of aggravated vehicular homicide in the death of Lynda Colegate, 55.

"This guy has no respect for anything," said the victim's sister Sandra Hume, 57. "I hope Hamilton County prosecutes him to the limit so he doesn't drive again. I want him to sit in prison and think about what he's done."

If convicted Luke faces up to 10 years in prison.

Colegate, 55, in a Chevrolet Cavalier, was turning left into the driveway of her home in Whitewater Township on Ohio 128 when Luke crashed into the driver's side of her car.

Deputies said Luke was speeding and driving recklessly at the time of the crash, trying to pass several vehicles in a no passing zone. A 911 phone call about the crash released by police Monday suggests Luke was doing "wheelies."

Colegate died at the scene.

Hume said the motorcycle's engine hit her sister in the head, its oil pan landing in the backseat.

Luke also has numerous traffic cases out of Kentucky and Ohio. In Kentucky, where Luke has a license that was issued in 2006, his record stretches over three pages dating to 2004, when his record was purged as required by state law.

In Hamilton County, Luke has been found guilty of traffic violations including driving an unsafe, overweight vehicle and speeding. Most recently, he got a speeding ticket on Sept. 3 and was fined $104. Despite the Indiana suspension, he was not cited for driving on a suspended license.

When Luke hit Colegate, she was returning from an ill neighbor's home, for whom she had done laundry and had just dropped it off.

Colegate was raising her two granddaughters, ages 10 and 14, Hume said. They will now be cared for by other family members, including Hume who lives in Tennessee.

"They are taking it very hard," Hume said. "One of them told us not to wear grandma's coat because it's the only thing that smells like her."

sadly, this is the kind of reaction that idiots like this cause.

Way to go fuckstick - another 1%'er drives opinions of motorcyclists into the toilet once again. :td:

RIP to the woman who was just trying to pull into her driveway

Well there you go... the biker was totally at fault and I retract my previous statements.

It's good to think out of the box. I was actually going to say, before the rest of the story was posted, that I like the way you think. Approaching it from all angles is the only sure way to go.

About the dude though.. only 10 years? I say off him and spare the world another idiot.

Oh, I agree about there being 2 sides, but:

Don't get me wrong dude, I agree with where you're coming from and see a ton of media sensationalism here but the dude ended up doing something stupid and killed someone (regardless of the events causing him to pass illegally). The lady may have been driving slow and holding up traffic... she may have been drunk... but there's a reason no passing zones are no passing zones and as soon as he crossed the yellow line he broke the law ad ended up killing someone...

But, that's just my $.02

Either way, the guy ended up effing up people's perception of riders even more.

Agreed, eff him. Hope he goes to jail for a long time.

I rest my case. :lol:


Seriously though this guy has now really fvcked up several peoples life and ended one. People like him make it bad for the rest of us and I hope he pays dearly and suffers forever. :idk: