The NW Motorcycle Blotter
Recent motorcycle incidents in the Northwest. Pictures
whenever possible.
2/18/2012 - MOSES LAKE, WA - A Moses Lake man was injured
when he hit one of two deer standing on the roadway of Highway 262
about 21 miles southwest of Moses Lake.
Christopher Munter, 42, was going east on the highway that
travels along the south side of Potholes Reservoir when the accident
occurred at 4:57 p.m. Saturday, according to the Washington State
Patrol.
Munter and the deer came to rest in the roadway after the
accident, according to the state patrol.
Munter was taken to Samaritan Hospital in Moses Lake. No word yet
on when or where services for the deer will be held.
1/31/12 - KENT, Wash. — 69-year-old man was struck by a
motorcycle and killed Tuesday night in Kent
Police say the man was trying to cross Pacific Highway South when
he stepped in front of the motorcycle. The News Tribune reports the
pedestrian died at the scene. The motorcyclist was injured and taken
to a hospital.
SR! Comments: So, why is it that the state does not
require motorcyclists to have insurance? Suppose this was a four
year old child and the child lived...
12/5/11 - BELLINGHAM - 18 year old dies following endorsement
test
An 18-year-old Sumas man who had aced his motorcycle license test
just a half hour earlier crashed and was killed Saturday morning,
Dec. 3.David T. Swift had just passed the Department of Licensing
test and was driving his 2006 Kawasaki west in the 200 block of West
Horton Road when he crashed at about 11:30 a.m., according to
Bellingham Police spokesman Mark Young.
Swift was riding with his brother, Michael Swift. He had just
passed a car and was waving his brother on when he lost control, hit
the curb and slid, Young said. Paramedics pronounced him dead at the
scene. Medical examiner Gary Goldfogel said no drugs or alcohol are
suspected in the crash, though speed and inattention may have been
contributing factors. The Bellingham Police Traffic Unit is still
investigating the crash.
Swift, the youngest of seven children, was a 2011 graduate of
Nooksack Valley High School who hoped to join the Air Force in the
spring and ultimately become a commercial pilot, said his sister,
Anika Hildebrand, 27.At a spontaneous memorial service Sunday night
at Riverside Park in Everson, more than 200 people showed up to
share their memories and stories about Swift.
"He was so full of life," Hildebrand said. "He was always the
life of the party, yet he wasn't wanting to be the life of the party
- he just was. He was a very dynamic person. Everyone just loved
him.
"Swift recently started working for a local contractor to install
satellite dishes, and Hildebrand said his boss used to say he wished
he had 10 Davids.
"He earned a lot of people's respect," she said. "He was a hard
worker."
Swift and his brother had taken Cordata Parkway to Horton after
the driving test because of the long curves in the road.
"That's how he lived. He lived life to the fullest," Hildebrand
said. "It's a lot easier to think about the good side of it."
11/1/11 - FAIRBANKS, AK -- The next time you think Iron Butt
A Seattle motorcyclist who fell asleep and ran into two
bicyclists near Nenana in June 2010 while participating in the last
leg of a cross-country motorcycle race from Florida to Alaska
accepted a plea deal with the state Monday that requires her to
serve 16 months in jail and pay restitution to the two cyclists,
neither of whom was seriously injured.
Vik Livingston, 54, originally was charged with two counts of
second-degree felony assault, but the charges were reduced to
fourth-degree misdemeanor assault as a result of Monday’s plea deal.
A drunken-driving charge against Livingston was dropped previously
because of lack of evidence.
The plea deal came on the day Livingston’s trial in Fairbanks
Superior Court was scheduled to begin. It will be up to the
Department of Corrections to decide whether Livingston will serve
jail time or be monitored electronically in Seattle, assistant
district attorney Arne Soldwedel said.
Livingston was competing in the Hoka Hey Challenge, an 8,000-mile
motorcycle race from Key West, Fla., to Homer that is billed as the
Iditarod of Harley-Davidsons, when the motorcycle plowed into
cyclists Andy Hutten and Karen Schaad, who were riding on the
shoulder of the road near 306 Mile of the Parks Highway, about 50
miles south of Fairbanks.
Hutten suffered a bad cut on his leg and a Schaad had a chipped
vertebrae and cracked pelvis. Both cyclists suffered bad road rash
as a result of sliding an estimated 30 feet on the pavement.
Livingston wound up in Fairbanks Memorial Hospital with cracked
ribs, a broken clavicle and a punctured lung.
Alaska State Troopers reported there were no signs that
Livingston swerved or braked until after hitting the first cyclist,
which is consistent with accidents where people fall asleep at the
wheel. Livingston, meanwhile, claimed to have swerved onto the
shoulder of the road to avoid a car that had braked suddenly.
10/28/11- SEATTLE, WA -- How'd he do that?
Seattle police say they clocked -- and cited -- a man riding a
motorcycle Friday morning at 103 mph on the West Seattle Bridge.
His excuse: He was late for work.
With the viaduct closure you gotta figure it must have been VERY
early in the morning.
9/28/2011 - ASTORIA, OR -- When in doubt turn yourself in
The 30-year-old motorcycle driver who led a state trooper on a
120-mph chase on Highway 30 near Clatskanie that ended when the
trooper's patrol car crashed in an embankment turned himself this
morning.
Nicholas R. Boehler III, of Westport, will appear in Columbia
County Circuit Court on Oct. 24 on charges of reckless driving,
speeding, driving without a motorcycle endorsement and attempting to
elude using a motor vehicle, a felony.
Oregon State Police Trooper Jessica Spurlock first spotted
Boehler as he was riding his motorcycle eastbound on the highway
near Clatskanie about 6:30 a.m. Sunday. He was driving about 20
miles over the 55-mph speed limit, so Spurlock turned on her lights
and sirens and tried to make a traffic stop, state police said.
But Boehler didn't pull over, taking Spurlock on a chase where
speeds neared 120 mph. She kept him in sight until she lost control
over her 2010 Ford Crown Victoria patrol car and crashed into an
embankment.
Spurlock, who's worked for OSP for six years, was taken to
Columbia Memorial Hospital in Astoria where she was examined for
minor injuries and released, state police said. She was wearing a
seat belt at the time.
Boehler voluntarily came into the OSP Astoria office at 9 a.m.,
and has fully cooperated with investigators, state police said.
8/25/2011 - CORVALLIS, OR -- Time for a new Helmet Law
Authorities are looking for a man who walked into a Corvallis
bank wearing a full-face motorcycle helmet and demanded money after
implying he had a weapon, the Corvallis Police Department reported.
Just before 2:10 p.m. Thursday employees of Key Bank, 1817 N.W.
9th St. called police. The man was last seen running toward Oregon
99W, police said.
The suspect was described as in his 30's and about 6 feet tall.
He weighed about 200 pounds. In addition to the helmet, which had a
visor pulled down, the man also wore blue jeans and a dark-colored
jacket.
7/6/2011 - ESTACADA, OR -- A 24-year old Longview, Wash., man
was seriously injured Wednesday afternoon when the motorcycle he was
operating traveled off Highway 224 east of Estacada and down a steep
embankment toward the Clackamas River.
James D. Heys-Olfon was eastbound on Highway 224 near milepost 33
when he failed to negotiate a left curve and drove off a steep
40-foot embankment. He was wearing a protective helmet, but was
seriously injured when he landed on rocks near the Clackamas River.
Estacada Rural Fire District personnel retrieved him for
transport by ambulance to a secondary location where LifeFlight took
him to Legacy Emanuel Medical Center.
A dive team reportedly was working to retrieve the motorcycle
from the river.
Subsequent investigation led Oregon State Police to cite
Heys-Olfon for driving under the influence of intoxicants, careless
driving, no operator’s license and driving uninsured.
U.S. Forest Service, Estacada Rural Fire District and Clackamas
County Sheriff's Office assisted at the scene.
7/2/2011 - MASON COUNTY, WA. -- Man in critical condition
after crashing his motorcycle while not wearing a helmet in
Washington State
A 50-year-old Tacoma man and a 33-year-old Olympia woman were
seriously injured in a motorcycle crash over the Independence Day
weekend. The crash occurred at about 9:30 PM Saturday night (July
2), when the motorcycle they were riding northbound on the Mason
Lake Road failed to negotiate a curve and left the roadway near
milepost 8. The bike rolled several times ejecting the driver and
passenger. The driver, 50-year-old Edgar W. Ice, was not wearing a
helmet. He was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle
where he was listed in critical condition. The female passenger,
33-year-old Bridget B. Courcy, was transported to Mason General
Hospital and then taken to Harboview. The cause of the collision is
still under investigation by the Mason County Sheriff’s Traffic
Safety Team.
SR! Comments: Somebody grab us a banjo... And remember
folks, the motorcycle failed to negotiate the curve, not the rider,
according to the press release...
7/1/2011 - YAKIMA, WA. -- Two Yakima Teens Hospitalized
following Motorcycle Collision
Two teenage boys from Yakima have been hospitalized following a
Saturday night motorcycle accident in Wapato.
The Washington State Patrol says Roman Hernandez and Andrez
Acevedo were riding a dirt bike eastbound along the 1600-block of
Progressive Road when a pickup, driven by James Smiskin of White
Swan, began to turn into a private driveway.
Hernandez, who was driving the dirt bike while Acevedo was riding
on the back, attempted to pass Smiskin and collided with Smiskin's
pickup around 8:15 p.m. Saturday.
Both Hernandez and Acevedo were injured, however, Smiskin was
not.
The Washington State Patrol lists the causes of the accident as
motorcycle driver inattention, alcohol and excessive speed. Charges
are pending.
SR! Comments: It's 8:15 on a Saturday night in Wapato -
do you know where your teens are??
6/25/2011 - AURORA, OR. -- Salem man critically injured in
motorcycle crash near Aurora
A Salem man is in critical condition following a crash Saturday
at the intersection of Oregon 551 and Ehlen Road.
According to a press release, around 9:07 p.m. Saturday, Keith E.
Hallstead, 58, of northwest Salem was stopped at a signal on Ehlen
Road. When the light turned green, Hallstead, riding a 2009 Harley
Davidson motorcycle, headed through the intersection.
Hallstead was immediately hit by a 2006 Toyota Scion driven by
Adrian Mararita Chavez, 26, of Tigard. Chavez was turning left from
eastbound Ehlen Road onto northbound Oregon 511. He has been cited
for careless driving and taking a dangerous left turn.
SR! Comments: Driver's Ed 101: How often should you
come off a stop light or stop sign looking both ways before you pull
the throttle back...?
a. Never
b. Sometimes
c. Often
d. Always
 6/14/2011- ROSEBURG, OR. -- Winston man arrested for trying to
outrun cops
A Winston man was arrested Sunday night after police say he sped
past an OSP trooper on patrol and then refused to stop his
motorcycle.
Police say the trooper was patrolling southbound on I-5 about
five miles south of Roseburg, when at around 10:00 p.m., a 2003
Honda motorcycle came up from behind at a high rate of speed.
The motorcycle, which had two people on it, sped past the trooper
on the right, and police gave chase.
Officers say the man driving, later identified as Wyley A.
Bartlett, 22, of Winston, continued southbound and took the 119 off
ramp onto Hwy 42. He allegedly continued at speeds between 110-120
miles per hour.
After running a red light, police say Bartlett slowed and then
stopped about two miles later.
Bartlett was arrested and lodged in the Douglas County Jail on
charges of felony attempt to elude, reckless driving and recklessly
endangering another person.
According to the DCSO Web site, Bartlett has since been released.
6/3/2011 - LEBANON, OR -- Way to go, Lance
Police say an Oregon state trooper cited a man outside of Lebanon
for riding his motorcycle at 127 mph. Lance Hawken was spotted in a
55 mph zone on Highway 20 on Friday night. He attempted to flee,
police say, but was caught after shredding his rear tire and driving
into a ditch. Troopers took Hawken to the Linn County Jail where he
was cited and released on charges including felony attempt to elude
on a vehicle.
SR! Comments: There are some who believe they can elude
police on a sportbike - and there are those who fail, or the tire
fails...
6/3/2011 - Motorcyclist arrested after fleeing from police at
more than 100 mph
Police descended on the Issaquah Highlands June 3 after a man
driving a motorcycle at more than 100 mph led state troopers to a
condominium near Grand Ridge Elementary School, prompting
administrators to take precautions as the school day ended.
The afternoon incident started after the crew in a Washington
State Patrol airplane observed a motorcycle rider driving more than
100 mph on westbound Interstate 90 near Preston. The crew in the
Cessna 206 had been monitoring King County traffic.
After receiving notification from the aircraft crew, a trooper in
a patrol car pulled behind the motorcycle and turned on its flashing
lights to try to stop the vehicle, but the driver continued
undeterred.
“Because of the extreme speeds and the maneuvering that he was
doing, the trooper did not pursue,” Trooper Julie Startup said.
Meanwhile, the crew aboard the Cessna continued to monitor the
motorcycle and relayed the location to troopers on the ground.
Troopers then followed the motorcycle to the Highlands.
The aircraft crew observed the driver pull into a garage at the
highlands condominium complex and close the garage door moments
before patrol cars arrived at the scene. The motorcycle driver,
later identified as a 62-year-old Issaquah resident, lives at the
complex.
Startup said the man initially refused to step outside to meet
troopers. The State Patrol and the Issaquah Police Department
cordoned off the area.
“We have to make sure that we take precautions,” Startup said.
“Obviously, you never know what’s going to be happening inside of
that home.”
Later, the man and another man emerged from the residence. Police
arrested the motorcycle driver for reckless driving and eluding
officers, and detained the other man for questioning.
Under State law, reckless driving is a gross misdemeanor
punishable by up to one year in prison and a $5,000 fine. For
eluding police, a felony, the state can revoke a violator’s driver’s
license.
Officers then obtained a warrant to search the home, and troopers
entered the residence late in the afternoon.
“He rode his motorcycle right up into the residence, so there’s
the potential that he may have hidden something or had weapons,”
Startup said. “There’s no limit to what he could have done in that
period of time.”
SR! Comments: Gives a whole other meaning to Air
Traffic Control
5/30/2011 - WA: Island County judge injured in motorcycle
accident
Island County District Court Judge Peter Strow was airlifted to
Harborview Medical Center in Seattle on Sunday after the motorcycle
he was riding collided with a deer.
The accident happened at about 5:45 a.m. as Strow, 59, was headed
north on Hwy. 20 at Sherman Road near Coupeville, riding a 2011
Honda CBR 250R motorcycle. The deer bounded into his lane, and Strow
was unable to avoid hitting it.
He was initially transported to Whidbey General Hospital before
being transferred to Harborview.
Rep. Norma Smith of Clinton, a family friend, confirmed that
Strow sustained a broken collarbone and broken ribs, but is expected
to make a full recovery. Strow was the only person on the motorcycle
at the time of the accident.
Trooper Keith Leary of the Washington State Patrol on Monday said
the accident was unavoidable.
“We have no way of telling our wildlife to stay off the roadway,”
he said.
The accident is under investigation.
SR! Comments: A broken collar bone is a typical injury
in a collision accident like this where the rider is wearing a full
face helmet. The question is - if he'd been wearing less than that
what sort of condition do you think he'd be in now?
 5/24/2011
- ID: Motorcyclist takes police on chase through Boise
Boise, Idaho - What started as an attempted routine traffic stop
turned into a chase through Boise and eventually a case for the
Department of Child and Family Services.
Ada County Sheriff Deputies said they spotted a man on a
motorcycle who ran a red light at the intersection of Cloverdale and
Hazle at about 1:30 a.m.
When they attempted to pull him over, he allegedly refused and
led them on a chase through southwest Boise.
The motorcycle chase ended when the suspect ran into a dead end
and was forced to put the bike down. Authorities say that's when the
man jumped over a backyard fence and led them on a foot chase
through several backyards and open fields.
Deputies eventually caught up with the suspect at his home and
took him into custody. While at his home, deputies say they found
children who were left unattended while he was out.
Authorities have not said if they were his children but in
addition to pending DUI and eluding charges, he could also face
possible child endangerment charges.
Deputies say he may have decided to flee because he was operating
a motorcycle with a suspended license.
According to deputies, he was never arrested but detained and
later released. Charges are still pending and authorities won't
release his name until they actually decide to file charges.
SR! Comments: So in Idaho, it seems you can get away with a
lot without getting charged for anything up front. The bike is less
than street legal for starters.
5/21/2011 - ID: Teenager killed in motorcycle accident
identified
Boise, Idaho - The Ada County Coroner released the name of the teenager killed
in a motorcycle accident over the weekend.
Dak Radley Griffin, 19, of Nampa, died of blunt force trauma when
he crashed the motorcycle he was driving into a wall on Gowen Road
at Interstate 84 on Saturday morning.
A teenaged girl was critically injured in the accident and was
taken to St. Alphonsus Regional Medical Center.
Police say neither Griffin nor the girl were wearing helmets when
they crashed while making a turn from Gowen Road westbound onto
I-84.
Griffin was dead when officers arrived on the scene. They believe
the absence of helmets played a significant factor in the death, and
injuries of the passenger.
5/17/2011 - WA: Not your typical Bremerton traffic stop
A 63-year-old Bremerton man was injured when his motorcycle was
struck by another vehicle near 11th Street and Hewitt Avenue just
after 2:30 p.m. Monday.
The other vehicle's driver, a 39-year-old Port Orchard woman, was
pulling over during a traffic stop when her PT Cruiser hit the
motorcycle, according to the Washington State Patrol. A Bremerton
police officer had signaled for her to pull over after noticing the
Cruiser had expired license tabs.
The motorcycle rider was transported to Harrison Hospital with
undisclosed injuries. He was wearing a helmet during the collision.
His 2011 Harley-Davidson motorcycle was totaled and towed from
the scene.
The Cruiser driver was cited for making an unsafe lane change.
SR! comments: Just like they told ya in drivers ed
- 'check your mirrors and look right before turning right...'
5/17/2011 - WA: Expired license tabs are getting popular
Police are looking for a silver-colored late 1980s Range Rover
that backed over a Snohomish County sheriff's deputy's motorcycle.
The car fled the scene Monday near Lake Stevens. KING reports the
deputy was not injured in the hit-run. Sheriff's spokeswoman Rebecca
Hover says the deputy had pulled the car over for expired license
tabs.
5/10/2011 - WA: Collision in West Seattle
The motorcycle rider “refused treatment.” The 87 year old female
car driver was taken to the hospital as a precaution; she was
reportedly complaining of arm pain. She'd also stated - "I shouldn't
be driving anymore." Police at the scene tell us they’re still
trying to sort out the circumstances of the collision.
SR! Comments: Circumstances? Elderly
left hand turning driver may sum it up, but just how fast do you
need to be going to decapitate the front end off a motorcycle?
5/2/2011 - OR: New ideas in Speed Dating
Good ideas for impressing a new girlfriend: Flowers, a box of
candy or a night of dinner and dancing.
Bad ideas: Seeing how fast you can take her on the back of your
motorcycle.
It's a lesson that a 33-year-old Marion County man learned Sunday
afternoon when he was pulled over by authorities for driving 140 mph
on a 1992 Suzuki.
Richard Boedigheimer, of Gates, told a Marion County Sheriff's
Office deputy that he was "just having fun" with his girlfriend of
one week.
A deputy assigned to the department's traffic safety team spotted
the motorcycle on Oregon 22 west of Mill City. He attempted to get
the driver to stop, but the motorcyclist fled before finally pulling
over. The deputy clocked the bike at a speed that reached 140 mph.
Boedigheimer was charged with attempting to elude a police
officer, reckless driving, recklessly endangering another person and
driving with a suspended license.
The motorcycle was towed and he was taken to the Marion County
Jail.
Deputies said his girlfriend "went home."
4/26/2011 - OR: A Portland man has been sentenced to 13
years in prison after a jury convicted him of manslaughter in the
death of a motorcyclist last year.
The Daily Astorian reports that 45-year-old Kenneth Eugene
Middleton was sentenced Tuesday. The Clatsop County jury also found
him guilty last week of assault, driving under the influence of
intoxicants, reckless endangering and reckless driving in the death
last May of 35-year-old Andrew Church of Rainier.
The newspaper said Middleton was driving eastbound on U.S.
Highway 30 near Astoria and had consumed at least a dozen beers when
his pickup truck crossed the center line on a blind curve and hit
Church on his motorcycle.
Middleton was not injured but his 13-year-old daughter was a
passenger and suffered minor injuries.
4/23/2011 - WA: A motorcyclist escaped serious injury after
hitting a guardrail on Highway 303 near Ridgetop Boulevard on
Thursday and landing in a median.
According to a report from the Washington State Patrol, the
27-year-old motorcyclist was heading south on Highway 303. At 3:52
p.m., he lost control while merging toward the left lane and struck
a guardrail. He was thrown from the motorcycle and landed in a
median. The motorcycle continued traveling for another 100 yards.
The Silverdale man was hurt, but not seriously, according to the
report. He was taken to Harrison Medical Center and was cited for
speeding.
SR! Comments - 100 yards - that's 300 feet right? - the
length of Safeco Field.
4/20/2011 - OR: A motorcyclist faces charges he hit 107 mph -
and wasn't wearing a helmet.
At 6:55 p.m. Tuesday evening, an OSP trooper spotted a motorcycle
westbound on Highway 42 traveling at a high rate of speed.
The motorcycle operator was not wearing a helmet, and the trooper
determined its speed was 107 mph, police said.
As the trooper tried to stop the Harley Davidson motorcycle, the
rider attempted to escape onto Westside Road for about one mile
before stopping.
Oregon State Police arrested Nicholas Edward Houck, 20, of Camas
Valley, Ore., for Felony Attempt to Elude on a Vehicle, Reckless
Driving and Misdemeanor Driving While Suspended.
He was also cited for going 107 mph in a 55 mph speed zone and
failing to wear a motorcycle helmet.
SR! Comments - Perhaps he's sharing a cell
with Marco below??
4/9/2011 - WA: Killed Motorcyclist was going
100-plus mph
The Washington State Patrol says a motorcyclist killed in a
crash in Puyallup (pew-AL'-up) was speeding at more than 100 mph.
Trooper Guy Gill tells KOMO-TV that 24-year-old Tyler J. Huber was
thrown from his Suzuki GSXR1000R about 440 feet when he hit a car on Highway 167 Saturday
afternoon. The impact left the front fork assembly of the motorcycle
embedded in the front of the car, broken off from the rest of the
motorcycle. The car's driver was treated at a hospital for minor
injuries. The biker was wearing a helmet. It's not known if drugs or
alcohol were a factor.
SR! Comments - Tyler was a great athlete in high school,
had a good military career and his wife is expecting their first
child.
Also on 4/9/2011 - OR: A 24-year-old
motorcycle driver was arrested and given multiple traffic citations
after a Portland police officer measured his speed at 139 mph.
Marco Alfonso Huerta-Castillo, of Northeast Portland, was driving an
orange motorcycle just before 11 p.m. Saturday eastbound on
Interstate 84 when the officer spotted him speeding.
After a short chase ensued, the officer eventually stopped
Huerta-Castillo near Northeast 148th Avenue on the interstate.
Huerta-Castillo is charged with attempt to elude, DUI, reckless
driving and was given four traffic citations, including speeding,
driving while suspended, driving uninsured and no motorcycle
endorsement.
He was taken to Multnomah County jail after his arrest.
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