I agree with mdower. I feel for the victim and his family, but let's keep some perspective. The driver is innocent until convicted. The amount of bail is not related to the severity of the offense, it is set to ensure that the person charged will show up in court. In this case, people who know a whole lot more than we do about the case have decided that $1,980 was enough and we have no reason to second guess that.

 

It's a tough call when a "routine" accident ends with a death. These are the very reasons we wear protection and carry insurance, we never know. The facts we don't know(and never will) for sure could prove anything.

There was a young man killed about a mile from my house when a "soccer mom" in a suburban pulled out in front of him. Everyone figures she was on the phone etc... Turns out the young man was doing 110mph in a 50mph zone. She said she though he was a lot farther away when she pulled out. He was.

It saddens me to read about a fellow rider killed in an accident. My prayers go out to his family and loved ones.



-Ride well.

 

I'm all about innocent until proven guilty but around here you'd be in the 6 digit amount for bail for a manslaughter or murder charge. I'd bet if he'd been on foot or driving anything else but a motorcycle the DA and police would be treating this more seriously.



But then again maybe I'm just jaded by too many AMA horror stories...

 

Did you guys read the article?



It's a kid on a bike running from a cop who is chasing him in a police camaro.



The Camaro blew a tire, the officer lost control, hit an innocent bystander, and then fatally ran into a tree. The guy on the bike got away. The police then proceed to charge him with vehicular homicide along with a whole other list of charges.. The others sound OK but the vehicular manslaughter was a bit of a stretch and they got him on it.



What is next? Getting arrested for flush turn signals or loud pipes?



Just wanted to make sure people weren't thinking it was a guy on a bike running a pedestrian down and killing him/her.



This has got to raise just a little bit of WTF are they getting into high speed chases they can't handle without hurting someone.

 

My bad.. wrong article.

There is a separate article out today about the story I mentioned:

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/orl-vtrial1905oct19,0,7171779.story

 

I have allways believed that aprehension of reckless driving is best done when the perpetrator has returned to their house, they obviously know who it is, they charged them.. why not pick em up @ 7:30 sun am instead of tear assing through town after them, causing much greater potential for colateral damage. it boils down to police being cowboys, with too much hp, too much firepower, and not nearly enough restraint. rant off

 

here is the problem with your logic here. the dude was breaking that law, lets say the police cut off the chase and then this idiot kills a family of 4 five minutes later, everyone would be blaming the cops for not chasing him and getting him. also they would be sending out a message saying all you gotta due is speed to get away and we will leave you alone. As soon as the guy did not pull over for the cops he was comitting a feloney (plain and simple), and in the commision of that fellony he got some one killed (plain and simple). is 60 years a bit harsh? yes! did he get some one killed by not pulling over? yes. he took the responsibility of what ever happened after the chase began, he was commiting a crime and he is only lucky the cop got killed. He was weaving in and out of traffic, he needs to own that his actions were fatal.



People make mistakes all the time, and I feel sorry for the guy, but as soon as he decided to run from the cops, he took a step that can not be undone.



as for the "WTF" comment, I assume you are blaming the cops for what this guy forced them to do, It kinda sound like the old question you here after someone has been killed on a motorcycle "Was he/she wearing a helmet?"

 

Re: Another Dead Biker. Let's Go to Sturgis and Get Drunk

Another biker killed by a cager. So what else is new? Nothing will ever come of it. Bikers are too busy partying to accomplish anything politically. Janklow is about to get his law license back.

 

Sorry, but I can't dismiss reckless actions that result in death as some trivial "bad judgement call."



My perspective is that a family has been devastated, it was completely avoidable, and Mr. Carpenter must be held accountable.

 

I will always second guess the courts if they do something I think is stupid. The "pocket change" bail amount sends a message that reckless actions with a 2-ton vehicle resulting in death isn't really that big a deal. I disagree.

 

A little low? What do you think would be about right: $2156.99. I don't keep track of these things, but it seems to me bail is usually in chunks of 10 grand or so as it only requires a percentage to make it with collateral.

 

How is wrecking this mans life too going to help the original victim?



It was seemingly an honest accident, lets use some common sense.

 

I did watch the news here in ATL Monday night. If this story was on, I missed it. Also read what passes for the ATL paper monday. Ditto. {The ATL paper was once upon a time a fine thing. More of a cut & paste job with crappy "lifestyle" nonsense now with VERY poor coverage of anything "OTP" - outside the perimeter}.



ITP - inside the beltway...OTP - converse. ITP = blue. OTP= very red.



Lets all take a deep breath & remember that one K. N. Carpenter's troubles are just beginning.....When the dust settles I imagine he'll be in huge trouble. I've served on Petit Jury twice here in "OTP" Metro in the last 10 yrs + 9 weeks on a Grand Jury. I have a first hand clue for you re OTP Metro ATL juries: they are very, very, very big on personal responsibility & accountability. Carpenter will find this out...and sooner than you think.



I did not see any info on mitigating circumstances - not that I really care as I too want to see the perp pay and pay dearly. But know this...the far burb's here are just as big a mess trafficwise as elsewhere. GA 369 was a quiet country road just a few years ago. Growth in that area is moving at a furious pace. The road has not been upgraded to even minimal standards. And this ain't the only one either. Traffic is flat out crazy dangerous here. Even with 30+ yrs of riding experience on everything from dual purpose to high performance to heavy touring iron, I've long since started carefully picking where I won't ride here in metro. In fact, 90+% of my metro ATL riding consists of direct escape routes from this madhouse.



My wife and I are plotting our escape from our hometown as I waste time typing here.

 

I agree. Bail is related to many things, but in this case the guy was not drunk or driving recklessly. He just made a turn at the wrong time. Has anyone here ever had a close call while driving? Thought so. If the guy driving is someone with a regular job, family, house, etc., I don't see what would be accomplished by keeping him in jail before the trial. Also, often bail is used to keep people in jail so they cannot mess up the investigation. Here, that does not apply. Just one of those things, which is why they call them "accidents." It's not even in the same universe as what Janklow did, for example.

 

The thing is the cops kill way more people inadvertently every year then speeding bikers. Hell sometimes they kill people and don't even lose their jobs.



What is more dangerous... a speeding biker or a speeding biker AND a speeding camaro?



Why can't this guy get probation and do some community service like Janklow? Maybe he just needed to spend more on his lawyer.

 

I live in Forsyth Co. As much as it sucks the charge (legally) is correct. I was in the bail bond business for a decade before I opened my insurance agency and have watched Georgians ignore this flaw in the state law. My bro-in-law is a Fulton Co cop and my dad and uncles are attorneys- they all agree that the law needs to be revised but our "law makers" year after year pass over any changes to the current law. Is it a joke? No. Can we change the law? Yes. Will it be changed? Probably not. I truly feel for the family of the motorcyclist. I, also, feel sorry for the unfortunate bus driver that ran over the motorcyclist because there was nothing he could do. The only positive note is that the bus was empty> My girl goes to Chestatee Elm. Those kids would have been in school therapy for weeks. This is just another wake-up call to GA motorcyclist to get their law makers to step up with appropriate laws for the offenses committed.

 

If the guy had been in a car he probably would have lived so I say we make motorcycles illegal.



He died because a bus ran over him. I wonder how he would have fared wearing a full-face Snell Helmet?

 

My question is did he have time to do something that would have avoided hitting the car? Jump or slide off, drop the bike, broadslide: anything but hit the car. When I was faced with that situation I took the bike down. It hurt but if I would have hit him I would be dead or in a wheelchair.

 

Brutal. I wish no bad ill to the man that pulled into the pathway of the motorcyclist. However, the structure of the law itself is sending a message that if a person kills another (by accident) in a vehicle then it's "all right because he or she didn't mean too". That's not all right. I watch the news daily about kids killing their friends in stupid accidents and the kids pay no penilty except for a suspended license and some community service. If one dies because of anothers mistake there should not be a pass. The motorcyclist may well have been the money maker in his family. Now that family has to cope with more than the loss of life they have to endure lifestyle change as well. Who pays for that?

 

the area that this happened in has very little room for error. if he ditched he may have taken his own life because of the way the roads are constructed in the area. trees are close to the road in most of this area and where there are no trees there is potentially deadly drop-off.

 

Sounds like he had a truck in his lane, a bus coming at him, trees and ravines on either side of him.



When it's your time, it's your time.

 

Buzz, you are almost getting philosophical on us. Next thing you know you will be feeling sorry for the widows whose pensions you are raiding.

 

"Now that family has to cope with more than the loss of life they have to endure lifestyle change as well. Who pays for that?"



That's where those theiving lawyers come in. Unless Bush and Co. and "tort reform" have scuppered that route.

 

Well they have those pension because I made money with my pension company so I could raid them later with my pension raiding company.

 

Slow down and be careful

First, my condolences to the family and friends of Mr. Hovey. Our prayers are with you today.

A motorcycle collides with an truck, and the motorcyle loses. This is basic physics. Every day we choose to ride, we are more vunerable then if we chose to drive a cage.

Everyone on the road is responsible for obeying the rules of the road, stop, look proceed. Monday was a bad day for both Mr. Hovey, Mr. Carpenter, and Mr. Phillips--the bus driver. Each one of their lives changed forever in an instant, but it was the motorcyclist that died.

We grieve for him because he was a rider, like we are. We are angry with Neil Carpenter because of our own experiences, the inattentiveness of other drivers, the near-misses, and the accidents we have had ourselves.

Most of us also own cars, trucks, and SUVs, and find ourselves behind the wheel of a cage more often than we'd like. As a rider, my attentiveness behind the wheel has improved too. I didn't know what I was I was missing until I started to ride defensively. We need to share that with our cell-phone talking, coffee-drinking, newpaper-reading, shaving-at-75 counterparts.

As citizens of the road, we all can slip-up--It sucks, but they're called accidents for a reason, and we either walk away, heal, or die.

If we work to mitigate the risks, by being more attentive, driving/riding slower, not riding/driving high/drunk/drowsy, and just stop being in such a hurry--and encourage those around us to do the same, the roads become safer for all of us.

If we prevent one accident, either directly or indirectly, a fellow rider has not died in vain.