Austin Motorcycle Accidents Keep Medics Busy

AUSTIN, TX — Medics responded to three separate motorcycle incidents in a 45-minute span on Saturday, casting a light on the seemingly increased rate of such accidents in Austin.

All three motorcycle drivers were rushed to South Austin Medical Center with serious injuries, although each was expected to survive.

But no every biker is so lucky. In the past few months, Austin — already a highly congested city with hundreds of new residents moving here each year — has seen a number of motorcycle accidents, some deadly.

The string of local motorcycle accidents run the gamut — from dramatic falls from overpasses to mundane negotiations around cars pulling out of driveways — involving both male and female riders, from teens to seniors and in virtually every part of the city. Given the innate danger of motorcycle driving and the lack of awareness among some motorists, even the most routine of riding maneuvers have sometimes led to deaths.

A dramatic example of motorist unawareness to motorcyclists on the road came in September 2016, when Austin Police Department officer Amir Abdul-Khaliq, 46, died after being hit by a driver while he guided a funeral procession along Burnet Road. A driver made what police called an illegal turn, hitting the officer's bike. She was cited for failure to yield the right of way to an emergency vehicle among other charges.

The 17-year police veteran died of his injuries days later.

Aside from driver inattention, lack of training often leads to motorcycle deaths as well. Patch has chatted with riders who stress the importance of taking specialized courses tailored exclusively for bikers — a key step many eschew along with the wearing of protective helmets.

The Texas Department of Transportation offers such a course, titling it succinctly as "The Course for Motorcycle Riders."

Urging would-be students to think of the class as Motorcycling 101, TxDot officials say the only homework involved is to get home safely: "The instructors we choose know their stuff," officials write on the class website. "And they make sure you do, too. They help you develop advanced riding skills you can't learn from family members or friends. They come from various backgrounds, but they all have three things in common: They're professionally trained. They've been riding for years. And they want to see others enjoy the sport--and live to spread the word."

For a list of TxDot motorcycle training sessions by city, click here.

To some degree, motorcycling is glamorized (although not just in Austin), which has contributed to its growing popularity. Each year in Austin, the mother of all motorcycle rallies descends on the city, with tens of thousands of bikers taking over downtown streets for the massive Republic of Texas rally. From June 7-10, 2018, it'll be time for another ROT rally to come to town with its attendant road closures and re-routed traffic amid what amounts to a revved-up paean to the pastime of motorcycle riding.

Last year's ROT rally event drew 40,000 participants and more than 160 DWI arrests during bolstered police enforcement dubbed the Memorial Day/ROT Rally period of enforcement.

Related stories:

Austin Police Make 160-Plus DWI Arrests During Memorial Day/ROT Rally Periods

Republic Of Texas Rally Tally: 14 Motorcycle Crashes, Seven Hospitalized, One Death, 166 DWIs

Republic of Texas Biker Rally Means Congress Avenue Will Be Closed This Weekend

Republic Of Texas Bike Rally Descends Upon Downtown Austin This Weekend

Whatever the confluence of factors contributing to accidents — from driver inattention to motorcyclists' unpreparedness — Austin is feeling the impact. The carnage involving motorcyclists on local streets is significant, seemingly growing every year, with several riders losing their lives in just the past recent months.

Following is just a sampling of recent motorcycle-related deaths:

• On Dec. 4, Edwin Proenza-Benedit, 18, lost his life after colliding with a car in North Austin during an afternoon drive. The crash occurred just after 1 p.m. along the 8300 block of the Research Boulevard service road just north of Lamar Boulevard. Medics arriving at the scene attempted to administer life-saving techniques on the victim, but the young man died at the scene, according to Austin-Travis County EMS officials. Police said he was traveling in the left lane along the 8200 block of Research Boulevard northbound on a 2007 Suzuki GSX-R motorcycle at a high rate of speed when the driver of a 2004 GMC 2500 truck turned from Jamestown Drive onto the service road. Unable to avoid contact, the driver of the motorcycle struck the right rear tire of the truck and lost control.
• Deion Lee Odom, 23, died on Sunday, Dec. 5, after he lost control of his 2017 Harley Davidson motorcycle while traveling westbound on Cesar Chavez Street. Police say Odom left the roadway before striking several objects, and was pronounced dead at the scene.Born Dec. 21, 1993, Odom died a little more than two weeks before his 24th birthday.
• Just four days later, a 2 p.m. motorcycle crash along the 7900 block of Burnet Roadnear West Anderson Lane Burnet Road sent a man in his 20s to Dell Seton Medical Center with serious but not life-threatening injuries, medics said.
• Three days after that, another motorcyclist was rushed to the hospital with critical injuries after falling from the upper deck of a roadway following a collision in North Austin in the afternoon of Dec. 12. Austin-Travis County EMS officials said a man in his 50s was transported to Dell Seton Medical Center after the wreck that occurred just after 2 p.m. in the southbound service road along the 8400 block of Research Boulevard, just west of North Lamar Boulevard. The motorcyclist later identified as Robert Lance Trewitt, 62, died of his injuries the following day.
• Eight months before those incidents, a woman believed to be in her 20s died after the motorcycle she was riding fell from an overpass. The woman plunged about 100 feet to her death at around 4:15 p.m. on April 25 from the overpass above U.S. 183. The tragic incident occurred along the 8800 block of North Mopac northbound, Austin-Travis County EMS officials said. The motorcyclist later was identified a Megan Siobhan Brennan, 28.
• On April 17, University of Texas at Austin junior Nancy-Jane David died along the 4000 block of Manor Road after being hit by a bu just after 7 p.m. Police say the woman had experienced mechanical difficulty on her moped before being hit by the bus. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
• In early August, Tracy Allen Dam, 48, was killed in northeast Austin while on a 2015 red Ducati on which he was traveling southbound along the 1100 block of Pearl Retreat Drive. Police said Dam pulled alongside another vehicle and revved the motor before swiftly accelerating, causing the front wheel of the bike to life off the ground. Dam lost control of the motorcycle while the front tire was elevated, jumping the east curb and skidding across the street before hitting a fence on the west side of the roadway. The man was transported to St. David's Round Rock Medical Center, where he was later pronounced dead.
• In late October, a motorcyclist died on a Sunday evening after colliding with a vehicle in East Austin. The crash happened at around 6:15 p.m. on Comal and East 7th streets. The motorcyclist later identified as Starlite Stewart, 29, ran a red light while driving his Triumph, colliding with a driver traveling southbound on Comal Street who had the green light. Stewart was rushed to Dell Seton Hospital, but the man died shortly after his arrival.
• In the first week of November, Zachary Ryan Alexander-Ball, 26, died after failing to negotiate a curb while on his 2002 Yamaha in East Austin. Police said he was traveling northbound along the 1300 block of Thornberry Road at a high rate of speed at around 2:20 p.m. when he failed to navigate a sharp curve while attempting to head east onto Crozier Lane. The motorcyclist struck a metal gate along the north side of Crozier Lane, qnd was pronounced dead at the scene.
• In September 2016, Jessica Port, 32, was driving a black Triumph motorcycle eastbound along the 6800 block of Southwest Parkway as a white Chevrolet van concurrently turned left onto a private driveway heading eastbound on Southwest Parkway on Sept. 19 at around 5:45 p.m. Port was unable to avoid colliding with the van as it turned left in front of her motorcycle. She was rushed to South Austin Hospital for treatment of her injuries but later died. She was wearing a helmet at the time, police said.
• Nine days later, Stephen Crowell, 32, died after his Harley Davidson motorcycle collided with a GMC Yukon along the 5100 block of North MoPac Expressway southbound. According to a preliminary police investigation, both vehicles were southbound on MoPac on the same lane when the motorcycle struck the left rear bumper of the Yukon. The impact caused the bike to slide toward the left side of the roadway and the Yukon to strike the guardrail. Crowell was pronounced dead at the scene of the incident that occurred on Sept. 28 at 2:15 a.m. Police said alcohol consumption may have contributed to Crowell's demise.
• In November 2016, Christopher Ray Burnett, 28, was killed after being ejected from the Suzuki GSXR 600 motorcycle he was driving. He was pronounced dead at the scene at Anderson Mill Drive and Lime Creek. Police said Burnett was traveling northbound on Anderson Mill Drive at a high rate of speed when he lost control of the motorcycle.

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