1. In the first, Walter D. Fliss of St. Cloud was driving his 2005 Harley-Davidson west on State Road 524 in Brevard County about 10:45 p.m. Friday when, in a curve near State Road 520, he went off the road. Troopers said he braked, causing the bike to skid into a construction barrier and eject him. It was unknown if Fliss, who died at the scene, was wearing a helmet. The odometer on Robert Fliss' new Harley-Davidson motorcycle read 72.5 miles when he crashed and died.
2. The second accident happened about 3:30 a.m. Saturday, when Sanford Highsmith Jr., 42, of Orlando drifted into the center median of State Road 417 while driving south near Mile Marker 45 in Seminole County. Highsmith's 2005 Harley-Davidson hit a culvert and ejected him. He was airlifted to Orlando Regional Medical Center in Orlando, where he was pronounced dead. It was unclear whether Highsmith was wearing a helmet.
3. But as he made a turn onto Red John Drive from U.S. 92 on Wednesday afternoon, he didn't see a biker heading his way. The biker, a 60-year-old man from Cocoa Beach, was killed instantly when he slammed into the passenger side of Cooksey's pickup.
"I didn't see him until he was right beside my side door," Cooksey, 64, of Mascotte said. "As soon as he hit me, I stopped and called 911."
4. On Sunday, two bikers died in head-on collisions on Volusia County roads, and two others died in Flagler County in separate accidents on U.S. 1.
5. Lawrence M. Lokatys, 48, of Manchester, Conn., was driving north on the highway in Palm Coast near Old Kings Road early Wednesday when his Harley-Davidson motorcycle went off the road, the FHP said. Lokatys' motorcycle overturned and slid along the road's shoulder before coming to rest face down in a swale, the report said. Lokatys was pronounced dead at the scene.
6. Dean K. Ruland, 65, of Cobleskill, N.Y., died at a hospital after his Harley Davidson was struck by a van at an intersection, the Florida Highway Patrol said.
7. She said a sport utility vehicle changed lanes on Interstate 95 and hit the back of the motorcycle. Rocio Piccirillo, 21, died at the scene and her boyfriend, David Hernandez, 25, who was driving the bike, remains in critical condition. Both the riders were wearing helmets. Miller said charges are pending against the SUV driver, Robert Channelle, 37, whose license was suspended at the time of the crash.
8. Contrary to reports officers made at the scene, some eyewitnesses and friends of Naples resident Bruce Thalheimer are adamant he was wearing a helmet during his fatal motorcycle crash in Volusia County on Saturday.
After preliminary interviews with two paramedics, a firefighter, two deputies and a Port Orange police officer, who witnessed the crash, Miller said investigators believe Thalheimer wasn't wearing a helmet. Miller said officers found one helmet at the scene, which some witnesses not involved with the crash said belonged to the other motorist, Louis Hinds, 57, of Indiana.
DeHaan said he was riding with Thalheimer when the crash occurred, and his friend was definitely wearing safety gear.
"He was wearing a full-face helmet that was torn off his head upon impact," DeHaan recalled. "He was adamant about wearing a helmet. He wouldn't take that bike 10 feet without one.
Just a few of the deaths at Daytona. Interesting that the crashes fall into a pretty narrow band of causes. Big vehicles(cars, trucks, essuvees, etc.) either turning in front of or slamming into bikes, or what appears to be cockpit error on the part of the biker. Drifting into oncoming traffic, running off the road in corners, etc.
Age combined with brand appears to be a contributing factor too.
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