Darwinism in the Windy City

Update on that collision and another

A Rogers Park man was in critical condition after the motorcycle he was riding at a speed in excess of 100 mph on Lake Shore Drive skidded into a guardrail early Wednesday, police said.

Jon Vereen, 21, of the 1400 block of West Pratt, has been cited for negligent driving and driving under the influence in connection with the crash, which happened around 2:48 a.m. in the 1000 block of North Lake Shore, said Sgt. Maurice McCaster of the Chicago Police Department's Major Accidents Unit.

Vereen's blood-alcohol level was .18, more than double the legal limit, McCaster said.

Vereen also was cited for speeding and driving on a suspended license. It was unclear if he was wearing a helmet.

Police said Vereen slammed into the guardrail while trying to clear a curve near Oak Street as he was riding southbound on his 2001 Suzuki GSX-R1000 sport bike.

He was hospitalized in critical condition at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, police said.

Wednesday's near-fatal crash came less than a month after 23-year-old David Campos of Wheeling was killed when his motorcycle struck the back of a car in the northwest suburb while he was going 80 to 100 mph.

Campos' blood-alcohol level was two to three times the legal limit in the late-night crash, officials said.

So far this year, 60 people have died in motorcycle accidents, according to Illinois Department of Transportation statistics. Last year, 155 people died.

McCaster said almost all of the high-speed motorcycle accidents his department handles involve "crotch rockets" like the one Vereen was riding -- sport bikes with top speeds above 150 mph.

The Police Department is trying to cut down on the problem by issuing more tickets, but McCaster said: "To be honest, when they are doing in excess of 100 miles per hour, there's not a whole lot we can do.

"We just have to hope they stop at the light."

Why does everyone always pretend that 130 is fast?



I'm by no means a dangerous rider. But on the interstate? 130?



Hell... I can't merge onto the interstate without hittin' 115. You look at the traffic in front and back.. you pick your spot... you twist your wrist... and by the time you merge and settle in... you're rolling.



I'm to old to brag about speed. i'd sooner putter around on the backroads... but I think we should be honest here.



Anyone who's ridden a modern sportbike should know that 130 is no big deal on a dry largely uncrowded interstate.



It's cruising speed.

Yup.



But I get sick of seeing moron reporters saying things like "Speeds in excess of 90mph!"



Like its something that isn't going on everyday on every interstate in america...



I mean seriously... Average speed on many interstates is 75-80 mph... and they wet themselves over 90?



Call it a pet peeve of mine... but speed alone doesn't make up reckless driving.

Not that I'm defending this drunken squid at all... But I will say that I've driven LSD hundreds perhaps thousands of times and I knew where this guy hit the guard rail after only glancing at the headline... There's a chicane that (when traveling southbound as he was) that goes 90 degrees to the left, then 90 degrees to the right in about 300 yards of linear interestate... There's no shoulder on the outside or inside of the turns and they are sharp as hell... The originally unpainted concrete is now adorned with colors ranging ford blue to porsche red and all the other colors in between. I'm also not saying we should take out all the curves in the midwest as, I think this might be the only one in Chicago and I do like it... But everyone's doing 80 on LSD during rush hour and even when the cagers come sailing through they are squealing their tyres and sliding into the outside lanes (or guardrail)... It's a pretty squirrly section of roadway in Chicago. Again, I'm not defending this guy, but there's at least one car that hits this same guardrail every couple of days and most of them aren't even drunk or piloting a vehicle with 4 lbs/HP... Which is why they never make it into the paper. Just my two cents.