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Webmaster: quig
Sunday evening the biker community in south central Pennsylvania turned on the news to hear a very disturbing report.
39 year old Ken Fowler of Monkton, Maryland was out on his 1982 Yamaha taking advantage of this area's unseasonably warm and beautiful weather. At 5 pm Ken Fowler, riding along legally on his side of the road, was murdered by an automobile driver coming from the opposite direction when the car crossed the center line on a curve and struck Fowler.
Fowler, who was apparently wearing a helmet since the news media conveniently didn't mention otherwise, died as a result of multiple chest injuries; i.e. thoracic trauma according to the York County Deputy Coroner.
A motorcycle death caused by the carelessness of an automobile driver is not uncommon. Motorcyclist fatalities resulting the fault of another vehicle driver are the most common. So what makes this accident worthy of inclusion in today's List mailing across the country?
The driver of the automobile was an on-duty Pennsylvania State Trooper. The trooper was in hot pursuit at the time. "Of what?" you might ask; a murderer, bank robber, rapist, or some other high risk individual considered to be armed and dangerous?
HELL NO! This cop was chasing after a car with an expired inspection sticker. He passed it, saw the expired sticker, wheeled around and gave chase. No mention in the media was made as to whether the officer had lights going and siren blaring as he attempted to apprehend his target.
The incident, according to State Police, is under investigation. The officer remains on full pay status while Ken Fowler's wife makes preparations for her husband's funeral. In fact, Trooper Gerald Devlin got a few days off with pay.
We will certainly monitor this case as it goes forward. We expect everything possible will be done by the authorities to relinquish Trooper Devlin of any responsibility for the accident. At worst, we expect him to get a disciplinary warning letter.
What would Ken Fowler have gotten if he had come around that bend, crossed the center line and killed Gerald Devlin? I'd almost bet he'd be staring at a list of charges including, but probably not limited to: reckless driving, failure to maintain control of his vehicle, speeding, crossing the center line and vehicular manslaughter. The media would be screaming bloody murder about irresponsible bikers and the system would be trying to put Ken Fowler away for a long time.
Well, the system did put Ken away for a long time. We'll see if it does the same for Gerald Devlin.
Cowboy
"Predictably Unpredictable"
http://www.freebikers.com/pcom
ICQ# 5913013
- Ken Fowler Killed in a Wreck . . . Enjoyed Life -- April 16, 1998
- Crash Probe Cites Speed -- April 17, 1998
- No Homicide Charge for Trooper -- April 28, 1998
- Trooper Faces $403.50 Fine for Cyclist's Death -- May 1, 1998
- Biker's Organize Protest Over DA's Decision -- May 1, 1998
- Bikers demand 'justice' -- May 5, 1998