Ducatisti Killed in Denver, Driver runs, later turns self in

[iRam]

RIP

[jerryz]

just done a little bit of Time slot analysis of what video there is and my calculations extimate he hit the vehicle at 46mph and at the begining of the frame he was doing 62mph

just look at the force the impact generated on the SUV which in all respects was effectivly stationary as it was hit side on the bikes mas and velocity pushed the SUV a big distance .

Yes the SUV driver was in the wrong and should be punished .....but the biker was going too fast for safety in the prevailing consitions  and paid a terrible price for his inexperience and poor judgement and that is what the courts will hear too , sure the SUV driver was at initial fault but mitigating that will be the speed of the bike , the defence counsel will argue that point so the perp will get a reduced sentence

[ducatiz]

just done a little bit of Time slot analysis of what video there is and my calculations extimate he hit the vehicle at 46mph and at the begining of the frame he was doing 62mph

just look at the force the impact generated on the SUV which in all respects was effectivly stationary as it was hit side on the bikes mas and velocity pushed the SUV a big distance .

Yes the SUV driver was in the wrong and should be punished .....but the biker was going too fast for safety in the prevailing consitions  and paid a terrible price for his inexperience and poor judgement and that is what the courts will hear too , sure the SUV driver was at initial fault but mitigating that will be the speed of the bike , the defence counsel will argue that point so the perp will get a reduced sentence

from a legal perspective, if the biker was actually going that fast then it will be hard to pin the fault of the wreck solely on the truck.  sure, he drove off and he may be criminally liable for that, but unless the state has a damn good AG working the case, he is probably going to get off on the accident itself.  that video will be dissected again and again.

[fastwin]

Oh yeah, any good criminal defense attorney will be all over the video like stink. They will have their accident reconstruction experts come up with their defense friendly version and the DA's office will have theirs. Been there done that. But their real problem will be him leaving the scene and then running away only to turn himself in the next day. The defense will turn on the "he was totally freaked out" act and the defendant will be nicely coached to testify to his confused, scared mental state only to finally come around and do the "right thing" the following day... after he sobered up! But that part won't be mentioned. It will all be blamed on a young, inexperienced rider going too fast for night time conditions on a high powered superbike and how the poor confused (and drunk!) driver just accidentally misjudged the rider's closing speed. And if the young rider had any speeding/reckless driving type citations on his record that too will be smeared all over the courtroom. I see a very sad mess on the horizon. 

[jvax]

RIP rider.

Tragic.  And terrifying to watch.

Ever since my last hairy moment, which was a few months after I started riding, I had to redefine what "too fast" means for me.  So now, for me, "too fast" is a relative concept which means "not enough time for evasive action in case an object suddenly enters my path", not "over the speed limit" but on top of making sure I'm under the speed limit.  In that respect, I do think the rider was going "too fast".  I'm not saying I never ride "too fast", but when I do I try to realize it asap and slow down.

That said, that POS cager needs to be punished for what he did.  That is NOT how one enters traffic, and certainly NOT what one does after an accident.  I hope he looses his license for life, and rots in jail forever.  I too suspect he was under the influence which is probably why he fled the scene.  I seriously hope forensic scientists develop a way to test for past (last 24 hour) consumption of alcohol, just like testing hair for drugs etc.

I hope the rider's family finds some comfort knowing the driver will be prosecuted.

[Greg]

just done a little bit of Time slot analysis of what video there is and my calculations extimate he hit the vehicle at 46mph and at the begining of the frame he was doing 62mph

just look at the force the impact generated on the SUV which in all respects was effectivly stationary as it was hit side on the bikes mas and velocity pushed the SUV a big distance .

Yes the SUV driver was in the wrong and should be punished .....but the biker was going too fast for safety in the prevailing consitions  and paid a terrible price for his inexperience and poor judgement and that is what the courts will hear too , sure the SUV driver was at initial fault but mitigating that will be the speed of the bike , the defence counsel will argue that point so the perp will get a reduced sentence

Thanks for confirming my suspicions, that he was way over the speed limit.

This video is another reason why my next bike will have ABS.

R.I.P.

[avizpls]

this thread makes me sick on at least two levels.

[DrDesmo]

I, for one, love some of the groupthink mentality that automatically rushes to a rider's defense in every scenario, and places all the blame on an "evil cager"  

They're both at fault from what I can see.  Spending lots of time on a forum assigning degrees of blame is kind of beside the point when someone's dead and someone's looking at some hefty time in prison.  Take this opportunity to reflect on your own competency as a rider and (for most of us) as someone who drives a car.

Ride safe everyone ...  RIP to the rider.

Cheers,
Adam

[ScottieDucati]

+1, driver pulled out and probably never saw him coming.... rider was going way too fast for that kind of road.  BOTH operators were lacking judgement and experience and unfortunately.... bad things happen with heavy piles of steel hurtling at each other.  RIP to the rider, but I don't think jail time's the answer for the driver... maybe a driving class, suspended license, and make him get an Moto endorsement... well that'd be better anyway.  Shitty situation though, ride safe folks.

Oh, and while ABS is definitely great... it wouldn't have meant much at all in this situation, maybe a couple MPH reduced speed at impact.  This incident is 100% operator error (between both the rider AND the driver).

[Howie]

+1, driver pulled out and probably never saw him coming.... rider was going way too fast for that kind of road.  BOTH operators were lacking judgement and experience and unfortunately.... bad things happen with heavy piles of steel hurtling at each other.  RIP to the rider, but I don't think jail time's the answer for the driver... maybe a driving class, suspended license, and make him get an Moto endorsement... well that'd be better anyway.  Shitty situation though, ride safe folks.

Oh, and while ABS is definitely great... it wouldn't have meant much at all in this situation, maybe a couple MPH reduced speed at impact.  This incident is 100% operator error (between both the rider AND the driver).

Hit and run is reason for the driver to go to jail. 

Agreed ABS would have done nothing in this case.

Clearly the rider was going too fast.  We all do sometimes.  Regardless of fault this is still a tragedy.  To analyze the accident in hope of gaining knowledge to keep us safer is positive.  To point the fault finger is not. 

[Scissors]

Assuming the guy was 180 lbs. (he was probably more, he looks big in the photo) then that mean the combined energy at 45 MPH is about 57,000 Joules.

For those who don't know, a 45 MPH strike by a motorcycle with a rider is easily enough to rotate larger passenger vehicles, and flip smaller ones.

[iRam]

If You drive on the street like it's the track you WILL crash, and you may die.
[/quote]

My sentiments exactly. Its unwise to be speeding On busy streets like that with business establishments virtually everywhere. any one could pull up infront of you at any given moment. The cager should be punished for fleeing the scene.

[strat10]

maybe we are all saying "he was going to fast" "he could have swerved" just to lessen the impact this video has on all of us.


Be careful out there, and enjoy the ride. because as you see on this video, any second could be your last.

RIP fellow Ducati Rider

[fastwin]

I am always telling folks that I wish every car/truck driver had to ride nothing but a motorcycle for at least six months in traffic before they every get in a cage. It would change the world. I don't know about the rest of you but all the lessons I have learned from 47 years of motorcycle riding apply every single time I get behind the wheel of a car or pick up. I'm certainly not Mr. Wonderful behind the wheel but I think I'm better than most other drivers. Riding a bike (without a street crash) all those years has made me a safer and more considerate driver. I drive a car like no one sees me and everyone is out to kill me... just like on a bike. Just saying.

As far as this Jeep driver, when is he going to admit he was too drunk to see the speeding motorcycle?

[MadDuck]

Yep. The biker is largely to blame here also. Don't forget it happened at night with lots of lights to distract the SUV driver. Not that he's blameless and leaving the scene is criminal, period. However, it's just nuts to go speeding up a business district road at night.