motocycle crash howard franklin bridge

[gpggnnn]

left work early and passed by a crash. looks like a black strected out bike. anyway as a slowly passed by noticed the guy was on the back off the pickup with someone giving him cpr. I hope its not anyone from here or someone we know. This was around 3:45PM. This is the same bridge i usally fly on. Seeing this makes me want to get rid of my bike. My wife and kids would be devastated.

[Moonrs]

I can definately relate; right after I finished my MSF course and before I had my actual license, my best friend was involved in a serious accident that very nearly killed him. I literally felt sick about the thought of riding my own bike for awhile. My friend is someone I would consider a very experienced, mature rider, so to see him crash so severely really made me reconsider my decision to ride. After awhile, however, the feeling ebbed. I've now totally gotten over it, although it did take awhile. I am happy to report my friend has also not sworn off riding and is actively looking for a new bike. I hope you don't let this incident get you down too much.

[The CyberPoet]

That sucks. That was the same bridge Jason05 died at the Eastern end of -- where traffic starts to really back-up during heavier use periods.

=-= The CyberPoet

[gpggnnn]

This was right before that CP. Right on top of the hump. Been looking online to see if the guy made it. He had a helmet and a leather jacket. The helmet was taken off by someone. I guess it was to perform cpr. I dont know why he was put in back of a pick up though. I think he must have been run over by a car. Also his bike was put on the break down lane on its kick stand. Missing windsheild. I couldn't tell what kind of bike it was but it was a ss.

[KAT6]

I passed the accident on my way to the USF BULLS game and it didnt look good. The rider must of been going too fast, he took the tail gate off the truck with his body. That had to hurt
Joe

[KatanaSoldier]

That sucks. That was the same bridge Jason05 died at the Eastern end of -- where traffic starts to really back-up during heavier use periods.

=-= The CyberPoet

I remember that.

[KatanaSoldier]

Ihe took the tail gate off the truck with his body.
Joe

[JACKAL]

I passed the accident on my way to the USF BULLS game and it didnt look good. The rider must of been going too fast, he took the tail gate off the truck with his body. That had to hurt
Joe

lucky it didn't completely cut him in two.

[gpggnnn]

I didnt notice the missing tail gate. I dont think he ran into the tail gate cause his bike was only missing the windscreen. His bike like fine otherwise. If he wouild have hit the truck i think his bike would have been worse. Anyway, does any know how he made out.

[The CyberPoet]

ABC/Channel 10 News Story

Florida Highway Patrol says 34 year old John Castellano of Largo died from his injuries sustained late Friday afternoon along the Howard Franklin Bridge.

Witnesses say Castellano was driving his motorcycle switching lanes weaving in and out of traffic when he slammed into the back of a pickup truck driven by Angel Ortega. The collision sent Castellano into the truck's cab.

Castellano was transported to Tampa General Hospital where he died Friday evening.

Ortega was cited for driving with an expired license.

---------
Separate Story: St. Pete Times: Follow-up on Jason05 (January 2006)

=-= The CyberPoet

[Sin]

ABC/Channel 10 News Story

Florida Highway Patrol says 34 year old John Castellano of Largo died from his injuries sustained late Friday afternoon along the Howard Franklin Bridge.

Witnesses say Castellano was driving his motorcycle switching lanes weaving in and out of traffic when he slammed into the back of a pickup truck driven by Angel Ortega. The collision sent Castellano into the truck's cab.

Castellano was transported to Tampa General Hospital where he died Friday evening.

Ortega was cited for driving with an expired license.

---------
Separate Story: St. Pete Times: Follow-up on Jason05 (January 2006)

=-= The CyberPoet

R.I.P John Castellano




goddamnit i miss jason

[md86]

Wow , I like what Jason's dad had to say about trying to make people stop riding . Yeah , I know it sucks , but damn .

[The CyberPoet]

Wow , I like what Jason's dad had to say about trying to make people stop riding . Yeah , I know it sucks , but damn .

Mr. Harrill (Jason's dad) has tugged my ear a number of times since the accident with requests for more information on various bike tech subjects, asked about specific thoughts, opinions and theories, etc. And I've always been as up-front & open with him as possible, from recommending he try to get video footage from specific cameras that overlooked that section of the bridge (hotel roof-mounted TV station monitoring feeds), to questioning why absolutely zero rear tire remains were on the rim in the post-accident pictures.

Unfortunately, Mr. H is still looking for someone other than Jason's own habits to blame... Something beyond the fact that his son rode on a bike that had already been down six times and had unfixed major frame damages, something beyond red-mist vision and poor tire choices. The reality remains that Jason rode way past his own safety limits almost all of the time, past the bike's limits quite a bit of the time, and would have probably met the same fate only sooner on a faster bike, IMHO. Jason was someone who really needed to save his two-wheeled misadventures strictly for the track, where controlled conditions would have minimized some of the risks.

Meanwhile, Mr. H is on a sport-bike jihad -- not uncommon for a grieving parent who lost his only son to focus on the cause and try to minimize other's losses to the same. Jihad because he's also looking for leverage to kill the whole non-cruiser market if possible (at one point he was even trying to build a class-action case against all the sport/sport-touring bike factories for having "OEM front brakes" & chassis/fork designs short/steep enough to flip the bike -- something he quipped "no stock harley would ever do").

I feel for his loss and grieve at the loss of Jason. And given that Jason was a most relaxed and friendly person off the bike, I can see how his father thinks it must be the bike's design (or the entire niche's design). But the reality remains that the bike was like an on-/off-switch for something deep in Jason's personality, and unless you saw & talked to him on the bike, you'd never see that internal demon coming through. He was also the classic example of someone who might have been saved by starting smaller (Aprilia/Derbi 125 or Ninja 250) to learn the best habits and working his way up incrementally -- I honestly believe the Kat was the wrong place for him to start.

Dave (Jason's dad) wrote a particularly stirring song about Jason's death right after it happened, called "white tombstone". You can find it here:
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm...endid=70783619

News Video: Mr Harrill speaks out (includes funeral ride footage)

Peace be with Jason, and with all the other riders who have passed on.
=-= The CyberPoet

[ceeseven]

what is disturbing is he says he wrote it 4 months before he died.
from site:

About Dave Harrill
In memory of my son... My best friend... My right hand man.

JASON PAUL HARRILL 1/23/1984 to 6/12/2006

Killed in a motorcycle accident at age 22.

I've heard losing a child is the hardest thing anyone can go through...I now know that is true. I have always been a strong willed individual, never one to cry, but I'm feeling a pain that is indiscribable and at times the pain is unbearable....so I cry uncontrollably. It comes in waves and some of them are large enough to knock me down.

I beg those of you that are riders to please, please slow down. I know speed is a high, but it does kill. And I would not wish this anguish on any of your parents or friends.

I want to thank all my family and friends, and all of Jasons friends for their support and the outpouring of love and compassion during this time. I was not aware my son was so popular and liked by so many... and the number of people he had touched. I tried so hard to raise him to be a good person. And from what I have seen and heard since his passing I think I succeeded. I can't take all the credit, half of that came from his mother.

To those of you that knew him, you know he always spoke his mind, a lot like myself. Some may not have liked that but he always let you know where he stood....pure honesty. And I taught him to be that way.

He never hesitated to be there for me when I needed help with something.

I will miss him more than any words can explain.

He worked with me and we spent every day together.....consequently, I have heard of most of his friends and the different escapades and situations that involve you all....he cared about all of you.

The above song " White Tombstone" I wrote in February 2006, after one of his spills, and it scared me. I cried as I wrote it. Because I was afraid it would happen.

I dedicate it to him.

Jason Paul Harrill.......I loved you so much.

[md86]

Wow , I like what Jason's dad had to say about trying to make people stop riding . Yeah , I know it sucks , but damn .

Mr. Harrill (Jason's dad) has tugged my ear a number of times since the accident with requests for more information on various bike tech subjects, asked about specific thoughts, opinions and theories, etc.
Meanwhile, Mr. H is on a sport-bike jihad -- (at one point he was even trying to build a class-action case against all the sport/sport-touring bike factories for having "OEM front brakes" & chassis/fork designs short/steep enough to flip the bike -- something he quipped "no stock harley would ever do").

Yeah , they just tuck the front if you lock it up , ensuring you slide under what you were trying to avoid . Those things do NOT stop quickly . I'd rather be able to flip than not stop at all .