| Author | Message | ||
     Raraf |
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5993539/ Motorcycle Accident Kills 21-Year-Old By Amanda Mallonee WHAG-TV USA - NEAR FREDERICK, MD- A bizarre crash leaves a Frederick County motorcycle driver dead, and police wondering why he was riding down Rt. 340 half-naked. Shaun Matlock, 21, was only wearing a T-shirt and sneakers as he and six of his friends made their way past the Mount Zion Road exit on 340.One wrong move on his motorcycle cost him his life. Stunt riding down a stretch of Rt. 340 turned deadly Sunday evening."He was actually just coming down from doing a wheelie and when he came down he lost control and veered to the right toward where the tow truck was loading another vehicle," said Tpr. David Ward, the investigating officer in the accident. The motorcycle would end up under the tow truck, and Matlock wouldn't survive."It appeared from his injuries that he struck his stomach, or his abdomen area struck the tail, or the rear of the bed," said Ward. Matlock's body is now with the medical examiner in Baltimore for an autopsy, which will include a toxicology screening.Before you write him off as another kid getting into trouble, listen to his friends. "If he knew you for two minutes or two years he'd always treat you like a great friend.He was the kind of person who was always willing to go the extra mile to help you out even before he helped himself out," said Donnie Rough, a friend of Matlock. "He was more than just a friend, he was a lifetime brother.It's just too hard right now," said Brenton Heller, also a friend of Matlock.Matlock's friends added the daredevil part of Matlock was only 10 percent of who he was; the other 90 percent of Matlock was a great person and a great friend. Matlock's friends and family will gather for a candlelight vigil Monday night at 8:00 p.m. in the parking lot of Famous Dave's in Frederick. 10% Daredevil 90% great person and friend. Unfortunately, they say that a person only uses 10% of his brain! | ||
| Vegasbueller |
Damn that's sad! I watched a 20 something kill himself just feet from me at a redlight. He decided to run the yellow and a car decided they would do the same. His head popped like a melon on the asphalt and his back broke around her right front wheel. His helmet.. ohh that was strapped under the cargo net on the back of the bike. Unfortunately some will never learn | ||
| Tucsonxb9s |
The learning curve for squids is very harsh. I'll never understand the lack of fear these kids have. Guess I'm getting old. But that's the best part I suppose...at least I have the opportunity to get old! 100+ degrees out and ALWAYS wearing gear! | ||
| Midknyte |
Cut & Pasted from another forum, which was Cut & Pasted from yet another (no link to original). Skip if squeemish. Last night I went riding with some of my friends. It seemed like every other night, stop at one spot and meet up with some others and stop at another spot and meet some more and finally make it down to the stunt area on 42nd and Pulaski right off of I-55. When we finally get kicked out we made our way to I-55 3 went home and the other 5 including me hopped on the expressway. As we made our way up to the 90/94 east ramp Myself and another went up the ramp. As I turned around to make sure everyone was following I see a catastrophe happen in front of me….a bike screams past at about 125 (mind you I was doing 80-85mph and it looked as if I was parked) and goes from the right lane across 2 other lanes and into the wall….the rider hits a cement post on top of the wall to denote a drop off underneath and explodes at his stomach…the body tumbles about 250ft. The bikes skids on top of the wall doing a sort of endo…then falls and slides about 350ft ahead of the body. I get off the bike and go running as fast as I could into traffic to stop any cars when I see a car screech past and run the upper torso and head over. I stop traffic and run over to the body while all my friends are pulling up. I grab his hand and tell him I am there. It is my friend Ralph Storino, age 34 of Lemont, IL. He looks to the side and then at me and raises his hand and it falls. He is gone for ever and I know it. We call 911 and they are on the way…traffic is at a standstill people are crying and so am I. I proceed to look for the rest of his body and see his helmet laying at the bottom of about a 30ft drop. I hop into a area that is about 6 ft of a drop after the cement wall and see his hips down to his feet covered in blood. Gym shoe laying in the grass near him and his leg partially torn off I loose control and yell for my friends that are going insane. There are guts and brain matter and skull fragment all over. He is gone and I believe God put me there for a reason. I was meant to see that. Maybe that will help slow me down as I have been very risky lately. And the kicker... P.S. He was a new rider on a 2002 Honda 900rr and had never even taken a corner low enough to buff in the sides of the tires they were glossy and still had nipples. He had taken the M.S.F. Course a few weeks earlier... No real comments to add other than wow, what a hunk of bike and temptation for a new rider... More sad than stupid, but still quite stupid. | ||
| Ted |
Unfortunately some dont get a 2nd chance. | ||
| Outrider |
And the Mentally Impaired Die Young. Nuff Said. | ||
| R1DynaSquid |
I dont think it has anything to do with being mentally impaired. Rather its a case of being young & having that feeling of imortality combined with the impression that your skills are the same as Rossi's. The stunt videos you see at the major bike shows are partly the cause, they showcase young folks who are talented & or have a huge set of balls & unfortunately they target an extremely young demographic group that doesnt know they simply arent that good. You have folks buying bikes not based on their talent level or maturity, but rather their credit rating. We have a similar topic on the Borg right now as a result of a 37 yr old in my town getting himself killed aboard a Busa he owned 2 months & had already had a previous accident with it. Only had it back a week & ran into a tree in his neighborhood doing in between 80-105 mph according to 225' of skid marks & the impact. Doesnt have squat to do with being young either. Plenty of 40 & 50 somethings are suddenly entering the sport & for some damn reason cant fathom that alcohol & motorcycles are a deadly mix, add in inexperience & its a recipe for certain disaster. | ||
| Johncr250 |
He was probably riding an R1 too... | ||
| Outrider |
Thank you Dr. Dyna. I concur with your observations. However, I was making a comedic statement about the individual(s) that suffer from their self inflicted actions. I simply perceive it as mentally impaired judgment. In essence, entering into a voluntary activity widely known to cause death or serious injury with absence of forethought. Better known as an ignorant decision. The inverse is, even if armed with all the mental and physical skills required to enter into such activities, doing so unsuccessfully just reinforces my point. This is better known as a calculated risk which is a few Darwinian Steps above an ignorant decision. I sincerely hope that you are not considering a socialist approach that suggests the Government step in to protect these people from themselves. That would simply be all the more leverage Big Brother needs to eliminate motorcycling as we know it as well as a number of other voluntary (recreational) activities as well. | ||
| Kevyn |
Maybe the Japanese have it right with graded licensing. Very sad stories. More track days. | ||
| Darthane |
They already do. They require that we have insurance, which goes up for everyone one of these mother@#$%ers that kill themselves trying to prove their dick is bigger than everyone else's. The only question I ask when I read something like that is, "Did they harm anyone else?" If the answer is no, then good riddance, as callous as that is. | ||
| Mikej |
Graded licensing would cut into new Harley sales too deeply initially.  (I probably shouldn't have said that. I think I'll get the camera and go photograph outlaw motorcycle gang members this weekend, probably safer.)  (Message edited by mikej on September 17, 2004) | ||
| Outrider |
Graded licensing would cut into new Harley sales too deeply initially. Actually, all it would do is force them into making the Blast engine available in a Sportster frame. That way they can get both the sport and cruiser market segments. | ||
| Outrider |
Insurance or filing for financial responsibility (self insured). It has always been that way. Problem was too many didn't have either and a law was passed requiring folks to have one or the other. | ||
| Krassh |
Yeah I could see it now, "What do you mean I can only buy this 883 Sportster, I would look like a pu**y to all my RUB friends." | ||
| Outrider |
Look at the bright side. All you would need to do is swap engines when you get to the next tier. Start with a Basic Sporty with a Blast Engine, then swap for an 883 and finally swap for a 1200. Then if you have any money left you can go for a really big bike. LOL | ||
| Bomber |
graded licensing will likely not happen in the land of the free, home of the brave, where everything is someone else's responsibility . . . any controls on the who rides what will likely continue to come out of the insurance industry for what are, to them, good reasons -- actuarial tables and revenue/margin . . . . . tis a shame, though -- can't seem to find a good way for industry to police this, and the most appropriate sector to do so, the purchasing individual, oftne makes uninformed decisions, as many including Dyna and Outie have said ya pays yer money and ya takes yer chances -- the pain is suffered, of course, by those who are left after the fact (families of the injured/dead, mostly), which is the biggest sadness, IMO | ||
| Impulse_101 |
Unfortunately what this kid died of was stupidity. You can't regulate it and outlawing it outright would put most of us out of business. At 135 MPH a new rider like this was asking to die. My S3T has more than enough power to get me in trouble, sometimes I forget that but I try not to take stupid risks. Dyna is right in his assessment. Young guys with too much HP and not enough experience usually get into trouble. The question is how much trouble will they get into and how lucky will they need to be to get out of it? JT | ||
| Outrider |
Give the Government enough control and they will "outlaw stupidity" by merit of telling you what you are or are not destined to become. I can see it now. Mandatory Government Psychological Testing to see if you are qualified to do something...anything for that matter. Sound a little like Soviet Russia??? Some of you must be old enough to remember that. | ||
| Midknyte |
One has to wonder, if not for the motorcycle, what other act of stupidity whould have eventually done him in... Sometimes it's just a means to an end. Unfortunately in these cases, we get a black eye because a motorcycle was involved... | ||
| Tom_b |
It is a shame when someone gets killed on a bike. It is REALLY bad when it is from being stupid. seeing and being there if one of my friends go like this is mine and some of my fellow riders worst nightmare. | ||
| Captainkirk |
Maybe they should make the MSF courses MANDATORY for new license issues with plenty of video footage to graphically illustrate what happens when your gonads outweigh your brain.  | ||
| Tom_b |
I remember going thru drivers ed class as a high schooler.did the graphic films and the lame attempt at scaring me work? No didn't and I don't think it will work any better for todays kids. ride a bike and die, or ride RESPONSIBLY and live. Most riders are killed or injured from riding too fast or just plain not paying attention. There are the few cases where a rider gets hit, but not HONESTLY very often. | ||
| Newfie_buell |
That would probably scare the bits out of people. Not a good idea. Teach them to be responsible. | ||
| Outrider |
Teach them to be responsible. Well said. Not to mention, it applies to everything in peoples lives from birth to death. Possibly the most important phase is "Parenting." I congratulate all that have pulled that one off successfully. Responsibility and self control are things that should be taught at home. In essence, they are skills you need to acquire before you can interact successfully with others. The interesting thing is, for those that didn't grasp the concept at home, that is why we have laws, LEO's, Courts, Fines and Jails. |
