Don't read this unless you like being depressed

Baldy · 10-23-2002, 06:26 PM

Motorcyclist dragged; dies in Hwy. 101 crash

A 30-year-old motorcyclist unable to avoid an out-of-control car on Highway 101 near San Francisco International Airport was thrown from his bike -- then dragged hundreds of feet by a second car that struck him as he tried to move off the freeway lanes, and then run over by a third car, authorities said.

Arthur Grant of San Mateo was pronounced dead about 10 p.m. Saturday, according to the California Highway Patrol.

Grant was riding a 2001 Kawasaki Ninja near San Bruno Avenue when the driver of a 1985 Lincoln Mark VI that had just entered the freeway spun for unknown reasons across all southbound lanes, into the path of the motorcycle, the CHP said.

Grant crashed into the Lincoln and became separated from his motorcycle; he attempted to move to the center divider for safety, about two lanes away. But the driver of a second car, a 2001 Pontiac Grand Prix, struck Grant and dragged him. A 2000 Chevrolet Impala then dragged Grant to the center divider. Grant's motorcycle, meanwhile, was struck by a fourth car, a 1989 Ford Escort.

None of the drivers was under the influence of alcohol or drugs, the CHP said.

Officers were to continue their investigation this week. Witnesses are asked to contact the CHP at (415) 557-0552.

Rider · 10-23-2002, 06:31 PM

BeeCeeGS · 10-23-2002, 10:22 PM

This is one scenario that gives me nightmares. I can never get comfortable in heavy traffic. RIP Mr. Grant.

cRAsH · 10-23-2002, 10:40 PM

Hopefully he never felt a thing...

Marc · 10-24-2002, 08:42 AM

Man, that sucks. I've thought about similar scenarios while riding and it always sends shivers up my spine. The poor guy...

M

fish · 10-24-2002, 09:06 AM

That stretch of 101 around SFO is one of the scariest of the entire freeway. It always bothers me when I have to go through there. It's about 8 lanes at one point with entrances and exits on both sides, plus hurrying, pissed-off cages all over the place. Ranks right up there with 880 through Oakland/Emeryville, IMHO.

Sad news...it could have been any of us.

freaking RT · 10-24-2002, 09:53 AM

damn

irisep · 10-24-2002, 03:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted By Fish
That stretch of 101 around SFO is one of the scariest of the entire freeway. It always bothers me when I have to go through there. It's about 8 lanes at one point with entrances and exits on both sides, plus hurrying, pissed-off cages all over the place.

That is so true.

Rad · 10-24-2002, 03:44 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by fish
Sad news...it could have been any of us.

Very true, I try never to forget that one reason I'm still alive with all the ride'n I do is nothing more than just luck

I feel very sorry for the kid, his fam and friends and the two people that hit him

RockyRaccoon · 10-25-2002, 10:17 AM

It's little comfort, I know, but FWIW you may recall from the statistics that circulated here a while ago that relatively few motorcycle fatalities occur on freeways. I always feel particularly vulnerable on the freeway, but the data suggest I'm more likely to be killed in just about any other situation.

R-dubb · 10-25-2002, 10:48 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Kurt
.... relatively few motorcycle fatalities occur on freeways. I always feel particularly vulnerable on the freeway, but the data suggest I'm more likely to be killed in just about any other situation.

It's all about exposure to the other guy.

We see most MC accidents occurring as single vehicle, corner related mishaps. Since those events generally combine rider skill and road conditions, we feel in control and accept the risk, all be it high.

When it comes to the risk of being killed by others, we are much less accepting. Risk outside our control is very hard to accept even if it is less likely than making a big mistake.

I commute freeways daily. About once a month I come upon a crash scene where someone has lost control and launched across lanes. It's almost a random thing. Reactions get out of sequence, and someone ends up ballistic. With backed-up traffic and lane splitting it's impossible to stay completely out of the reaction chain, but that is always the goal. Trucks and rear mirrors pointing the wrong way are the enemy.

I go through SFO on 101 about 8x per week. It's Russian roulette with 1 : 1,000,000 odds. I can accept that, at least for now. It does make me cringe.

arth

R-dubb

dapolrbear · 10-25-2002, 11:14 AM

Fuck.

Don't people slow down after you see a car spinning out of control crossing all lanes, and then a mc hits it causing more of a scene.....I thought it is a natural reation to slow down and rubber neck.....I can maybe understand the second car hitting him, but a third car?! I'm not familiar with that section of fwy, but you would think the cagers would slow down to see whats going on.

iillyyaa · 10-25-2002, 03:00 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by dapolrbear
but you would think the cagers would slow down to see whats going on.

Oh, no. The natural reaction is to step on the gas, pass the immediate site of the accident and then rubberneck once you are beyond it. God forbid you get stuck for hours behind the mess while the emergency servicess block the way.

Very sad. Seriously, it's hard to judge whether the other two drivers had any options. Things just happen too fast at speed. I didn't say they're blameless, but we can't really determine that by proxy through the article.

Sad indeed.

--
Ilya

BJZ · 10-25-2002, 08:01 PM

Apparently the rider survived the initial impact in fairly good shape and was then trying to get to safety. He had already beaten the odds by surviving the initial crash what a tragedy to be killed as a pedestrian running for saftey.

John Macdonald · 10-25-2002, 11:01 PM

Poor fucker.

I too ride the freeways around here every day. I grew up on these miserable stretches of tarmac. It seems as if the drivers on the few miles of road mentioned in this thread undergo some kind of momentary lapse of intelligence. My tactic has been for the past fifteen years or so to just pass everything on the road and not look back. It's the only way I can narrow the odds and keep some kind of control on the situation. I have had some close calls, but never fell off on the big wide freeway.

Two mornings ago on the way to taking my little dog to the vet I saw the block just south of me blocked off with police cars and yellow tape. It was eight in the morning and they seemed to have been there for a while. On my return home I grabbed my camera and beat it over to the scene. Seems as if some kid on his bicycle had gotten slammed by a speeding car. The poor dude was on his way to the health club down the street for a workout and got nailed by some fuckhead in a cage. The driver continued seven blocks down the road with the bicycle the poor guy was riding stuck in his grille until it dislodged as he was turning a corner twoards the freeway on ramp. The driver took off to the Bay Bridge and speeded his way to San Francisco and killed a pedestrian with his car, getting away on the gas into the city. Last I heard he was still on the loose.
What a fucking way to go.

10-23-2002, 06:26 PM	#1
Baldy ^OP Site Owner Joined: Jun 2001 Location: Silicon Valley, CA Oddometer: 8,893	Don't read this unless you like being depressed Motorcyclist dragged; dies in Hwy. 101 crash A 30-year-old motorcyclist unable to avoid an out-of-control car on Highway 101 near San Francisco International Airport was thrown from his bike -- then dragged hundreds of feet by a second car that struck him as he tried to move off the freeway lanes, and then run over by a third car, authorities said. Arthur Grant of San Mateo was pronounced dead about 10 p.m. Saturday, according to the California Highway Patrol. Grant was riding a 2001 Kawasaki Ninja near San Bruno Avenue when the driver of a 1985 Lincoln Mark VI that had just entered the freeway spun for unknown reasons across all southbound lanes, into the path of the motorcycle, the CHP said. Grant crashed into the Lincoln and became separated from his motorcycle; he attempted to move to the center divider for safety, about two lanes away. But the driver of a second car, a 2001 Pontiac Grand Prix, struck Grant and dragged him. A 2000 Chevrolet Impala then dragged Grant to the center divider. Grant's motorcycle, meanwhile, was struck by a fourth car, a 1989 Ford Escort. None of the drivers was under the influence of alcohol or drugs, the CHP said. Officers were to continue their investigation this week. Witnesses are asked to contact the CHP at (415) 557-0552.

10-23-2002, 06:31 PM	#2
Rider Moderator Emeritus Joined: Dec 2001 Location: The Heart Of It All Oddometer: 2,102	__________________ 2012 FJR1300 - In Search Of Fast Sweepers My Voice

10-23-2002, 10:22 PM	#3
BeeCeeGS WeaponOfMassDestruction Joined: Dec 2001 Location: Chilliwack, BC Oddometer: 1,695	This is one scenario that gives me nightmares. I can never get comfortable in heavy traffic. RIP Mr. Grant. __________________ Every day I break my previous record of consecutive days still alive.

10-24-2002, 08:42 AM	#5
Marc Just sayin... Joined: Jul 2001 Location: PNW Oddometer: 8,967	Man, that sucks. I've thought about similar scenarios while riding and it always sends shivers up my spine. The poor guy... M __________________ [i]"I mean, really ... when you get right down to it, does a man need anything much more than bacon

10-24-2002, 09:53 AM	#7
freaking RT will golf for food Joined: Nov 2001 Location: just outside Richmond, VA Oddometer: 27,235	damn __________________ IBA#10787 “We, the people, are the rightful masters of both congress and the courts - not to overthrow the constitution, but to overthrow men who pervert the constitution.” – Abraham Lincoln "Fathom the odd hypocrisy that Obama wants every citizen to prove they are insured, but people don't have to prove they are citizens". -Anonymous WV VA Good Eats Map

10-23-2002, 10:40 PM	#4
cRAsH Banned Joined: Jul 2001 Location: Nicetown, USA Oddometer: 19,324	Hopefully he never felt a thing...

10-24-2002, 09:06 AM	#6
fish Banned Joined: Jul 2001 Location: Gold Country Oddometer: 47,709	That stretch of 101 around SFO is one of the scariest of the entire freeway. It always bothers me when I have to go through there. It's about 8 lanes at one point with entrances and exits on both sides, plus hurrying, pissed-off cages all over the place. Ranks right up there with 880 through Oakland/Emeryville, IMHO. Sad news...it could have been any of us.

10-25-2002, 10:17 AM	#10
RockyRaccoon Found:Gideon's Bible Joined: Jul 2001 Location: Collapsed in the Corner Oddometer: 53,659	It's little comfort, I know, but FWIW you may recall from the statistics that circulated here a while ago that relatively few motorcycle fatalities occur on freeways. I always feel particularly vulnerable on the freeway, but the data suggest I'm more likely to be killed in just about any other situation. __________________ It's only a scratch. “It is a far, far better thing to have a firm anchor in nonsense than to put out on the troubled seas of thought.” -- John Kenneth Galbraith

10-25-2002, 11:14 AM	#12
dapolrbear Buddah Head Adventurer Joined: Jul 2001 Location: Los Angeles Oddometer: 805	Fuck. Don't people slow down after you see a car spinning out of control crossing all lanes, and then a mc hits it causing more of a scene.....I thought it is a natural reation to slow down and rubber neck.....I can maybe understand the second car hitting him, but a third car?! I'm not familiar with that section of fwy, but you would think the cagers would slow down to see whats going on.

10-25-2002, 08:01 PM	#14
BJZ Gnarly Adventurer Joined: Jan 2002 Location: Scarsdale, NY Oddometer: 337	Apparently the rider survived the initial impact in fairly good shape and was then trying to get to safety. He had already beaten the odds by surviving the initial crash what a tragedy to be killed as a pedestrian running for saftey. __________________ BZ

10-25-2002, 11:01 PM	#15
John Macdonald Beastly Adventurer Joined: Oct 2002 Location: Nevada Oddometer: 1,680	Yeah completely fucked Poor fucker. I too ride the freeways around here every day. I grew up on these miserable stretches of tarmac. It seems as if the drivers on the few miles of road mentioned in this thread undergo some kind of momentary lapse of intelligence. My tactic has been for the past fifteen years or so to just pass everything on the road and not look back. It's the only way I can narrow the odds and keep some kind of control on the situation. I have had some close calls, but never fell off on the big wide freeway. Two mornings ago on the way to taking my little dog to the vet I saw the block just south of me blocked off with police cars and yellow tape. It was eight in the morning and they seemed to have been there for a while. On my return home I grabbed my camera and beat it over to the scene. Seems as if some kid on his bicycle had gotten slammed by a speeding car. The poor dude was on his way to the health club down the street for a workout and got nailed by some fuckhead in a cage. The driver continued seven blocks down the road with the bicycle the poor guy was riding stuck in his grille until it dislodged as he was turning a corner twoards the freeway on ramp. The driver took off to the Bay Bridge and speeded his way to San Francisco and killed a pedestrian with his car, getting away on the gas into the city. Last I heard he was still on the loose. What a fucking way to go. __________________ Too many projects, not enough bank account.

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