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Tucson has a good population of young bold sportbike riders...and we lose our fair share every year. It seems to me these types of accidents resulting from extreme speed happen all to often.

December 22, 2008, 9:36 a.m.
DAVID L. TEIBEL
Tucson Citizen
Two motorcyclists died in separate but similar crashes Saturday, authorities said.

In the first accident, a rider crashed Saturday afternoon into the back of a sport utility vehicle on the Southeast Side, a Tucson police spokesman said.

Killed was Brian R. Wilson, 24, of Tucson, said Sgt. Fabian Pacheco.

Wilson's name had been withheld until Monday so family members could be told of the death, Pacheco said.

Wilson was driving east at high speeds in the 6800 block of East 22nd Street, west of Kolb Road, when he crashed his 2007 Yamaha into a 1995 Ford Explorer about 5:50 p.m., Pacheco said.

He said the woman driving the SUV, also 24, was not hurt. She was the SUV's sole occupant. Her name was not released because she was not cited.

The motorcyclist, who was wearing a helmet, was thrown from his motorcycle and suffered extensive head injuries, Pacheco said.

He was taken to University Medical Center, where he died shortly after arrival, Pacheco said.

The second crash occurred Saturday night when motorcyclist Zachary Bosseler, an 18-year-old Tucson-area man, hit the back of a car, said Deputy Dawn Barkman, a sheriff's spokeswoman.

Barkman said Bosseler was heading west on East Tanque Verde Road near North Tanque Verde Loop when he hit the car about 9:30 p.m.

Debris from the crash indicated Bosseler was driving at "a high rate of speed," Barkman said.

Witnesses told investigators they believed Bosseler was driving fast. Barkman did not have an estimate of how fast he was driving.

Bosseler was wearing a helmet, which likely came off when he hit the car, she said.

He died at the scene, Barkman said.

Lets all remember....There are old bikers and bold bikers but there are few old bold bikers. Two families are having a bummer Christmas today as a result of these two tragic accidents. No need to belabor the stupidity of the victims .....the pain is all too clear to the families.

Thankyou for the information. Been riding off and on for years since 1984 but always solo. Not even one riding buddy. Kind of cautious of others in a big group.

Young (many under 20 yrs old),inexperienced riders and old (many over 40 yrs old ), inexperienced (sorry, I know you ALL think your Gary Nixon) riders on products that go over 160 mph, with sub 10 sec. 1/4 mile excelleration, developed, manufactured,& marketed by (supposedly) mature, educated professionals.
I'd say ALL parties involved share some percentage of fault.
If we're to be a lawful, sensible, responsible society, what is the purpose of cars & motorcycles that exceed 160 mph? Or even 100 for that matter (others would say 80).
My America hits triple diget speeds, and at times of poor judgement, it does. If it couldn't, it wouldn't.
Weapons are used for murders, but their intended purpose is survival & protection. So again, what is the intended purpose of vehicles that exceed Mach 1!?

It really isn't the fact they can go 160mph since they would be just as dead in most cases at 70. You rear end an SUV at 70 and you are in a world of hurt , protective gear or not. Most of us travel highways at 70mph+ and even twisty roads at higher than advisable speeds. It's fun but also dangerous. My bike too hits triple digit speeds on occasion and in most cases at triple digit speeds if you go down you are going to get hurt or killed again gear or no gear. I noticed these reports stated they had helmets on and the one man still died of head trauma. The other probably did too since it was noted the helmet came off. That could be due to speed or possibly not buckled correctly. I have seen some sport bike riders with expensive full face helmets riding and the chin strap is just dangling not fastened. There are times to play and times that it is not advisable too, many of these guys travel at those high speeds in traffic weaving in and out of cars and doing wheelies in traffic. Not saying these 2 were since I haven't enough info to determine one way or the other what road conditions, visibility, or traffic was like, just an observation. Some guys live on the edge and it isn't just sport bikes or high speeds, look at Indian Larry, he was doing a stunt and fell and hit his head and that was the end of his life but he died doing what he loved. Same may be said for these guys, trouble is when they cause injury , damage , or death to others. If they want to risk life and limb where it won't hurt others (not including family and friend emotionally) then I guess it is their decision and most of us do that and any one of us can be killed the same way when we are playing.You can have a 20 minute 1/4 mile bike and fall wrong and be killed on it. You don't even need to be going fast or moving at all, I have a friend who fell off one of those small 3' give or take, step ladders and broke his neck and he is now a quadrapalegic, can use his arms but not his hands and another whos wife and kids were killed and he is also a quadrapalegic when a tree fell on his car out of no where. so I guess when your number is up, it's up.

Well said.

I also believe that when your number is up,it's up.... but it's up to you to decide if your going to pull your own number or pull someone else's number as well. That "yeehaw" flick of the wrist may give you a rush, but when your need for speed kills or maims some innocent, you lose all the street cred in an instant and become just another asshat.

Gear or no gear, HP or no HP, the best safety item you have resides between your ears....

Right you are Deon, as Stephen King (or was it his Richard Bachman persona?) wrote in one of his stories, regarding adolescent attitude toward dying in a car wreck: (paraphrase) If you go out alone, you're a hero, if you take someone with you, you're dogpiss of the year.