“When you are young you think you are invincible. You can do anything. It’s not going to happen to you. I never thought in a million years that it’d happen to us. That happens to other people. You hear it on television…But, it will and it can. It hits home.” These words slip out of widower Ann Marie’s mouth who lost her husband while he was riding home on his motorcycle. He was hit and killed by a drunk driver in his twenties who made an illegal left turn and fatally struck husband, father, and Desert Sand Storm war veteran Russ Gray.

Retired Officer David Coller of Clinton Township spent his time on the force as an Accident-Reconstructionist, Evidence Technician, Traffic Officer, and a Motor Officer. He has been riding a motorcycle for 30 years. It was his job to respond to all fatal and serious accidents. Ret. Officer Coller comments on what he saw as a trend with the motorcycle fatalities. He states, “The biggest thing is to take a second look drivers. Look and then look again. Before you change lanes or pull out of a parking lot or a driveway take that double look.” He emphasizes, “People pulling out of driveways and parking lots without looking or taking a second look is the number one cause of these accidents. The motorcyclists, they were for the most part experienced riders, riding for years, they weren’t the ones at fault.”

Ret. Officer Coller warns, “It’s that time of year. This is when motorcyclists are first coming on the road. These accidents occur all season long, but right now is the peak of these fatalities.”

This time last year is when father of three, U.S. Army Veteran Gerald (Jermaine) Reeves lost his life due to a woman not paying attention as she exited a turn-around. Jermaine’s cousin Chevon Chenault says, “He loved that motorcycle. He brought it over to the house and let the kids sit on it…My husband was at work the day Jermaine died. He received a routine mass text telling him to stay clear of 16 mile and Gratiot due to a motorcycle fatality…Five hours later my sister called me and said she had bad news about our cousin Jermaine. I instantly knew. I said, “Was it the motorcycle?” And, she replied, “Yes, Maine is dead.” I wasn’t sure my heart could break anymore…” It was the third vehicular accident in that location that week (two of the three involving fatalities to motorcyclists due to a driver that was not paying attention).

So, what can Motorcyclists do defensively? Here is what Ret. Officer Coller strongly suggests:

More than anything--take a riding course. The courses offered by Harley Davidson and MSU are two he particularly recommends. MSU’s program, he states,

• “Mirrors Police Training. It’s a week long.” (Taking a course is especially necessary because they instruct you how to brake quickly without locking up your brakes).
• “Make sure you are not in other drivers blind spots. And, expect people pulling out to pull out in front of you.”
• Wear a helmet. “One time or another every person takes a dump on his or her motorcycle…Just sitting and falling over does happen. A helmet saves lives in these incidents.”
• Wear proper gear. “With the right gear you can slide 200 ft. on the pavement and get up and walk away, as long as you don’t hit an object.”

Mother of Steven Prusak, a survivor of a horrific motorcycle accident is in agreeance with Ret. Officer Coller on the importance of the full body gear. Ms. Alice Prusak exclaims, “To those who feel that they don't have to wear protective equipment - it saved my son's life!”

In 2010, Officer Prusak had been travelling on the highway when he was forced to veer into the grassy meridian where he repeatedly flipped over and over. Prusak suffered a traumatic brain injury and was air lifted immediately to the best trauma hospital in the state. His mother says, “Five years later, he has regained movement in his right arm and getting there with his leg. He survived a lengthy coma and severe episodes of seizures. He is talking now and returning to his old self characteristically.” She knows without the protective gear her son wouldn’t be here today.

It is a community effort friends and neighbors. Let’s take the time to take that second look, it’s worth a life. It’s worth children growing up with their fathers and wives having their loving husbands. The aftermath of these fatalities is lifelong for the families and friends of the victims.

Widower Ann Marie’s voice wavers as she confesses, “I’m lost every day. I’m lost without him… I’ve tried to bury it but it just comes out later. My younger son won’t talk about it. He buries it. My older son acts out. He had straight A’s before his father died, MEAP contacted me, the President wrote me a letter, because he scored the highest score ever…And, now he just doesn’t care. He gets all F’s.”