Motorcyclist Kenneth
Fowler, killed in a wreck
with a state trooper, was
a man who enjoyed life.

By TERESA BOECKEL
and ROB WALTERS
Daily Record staff

   It was a quiet Tuesday night at the Fowler home just outside of Montkon, Md.
   Russell W. Laurion, Kenneth Fowler's brother-in-law from Seattle, was the only one there. Kenneth's wife, Gayle, was visiting his family.
   "He was a great, great brother-in-law," Russell said as tears welled in his eyes.
   Three days ago, Kenneth Saunders Fowler, 39, died in a lonely country highway.
   It happened after Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Gerald Devlin, 30, made a three-point turn to chase a vehicle without an inspection sticker. State police say the trooper's cruiser crossed the center line on a sharp curve on Route 851 in Codorus Township.
   The police cruiser smashed head on into Fowler's Yamaha motorcycle.
   Fowler was declared dead on the spot.
   Laurion said he and Fowler became brothers-in-law about seven years ago. Laurion had known Fowler for about four years before that.
   "As soon as we met Ken, he fit right in," he said.
   Fowler was a person who loved life and lived life to the fullest, Laurion said. He would always crack jokes when they played sports like volleyball, basketball or golf. He and Gayle would invite the family to visit on Labor Day each year for a party. They would swim in the pool and play softball or volleyball.
   Even though Fowler was always busy working around the house, he often took time to talk with Laurion when he called. They would chat about different sports. Fowler loved sports and being outdoors, Laurion said.
   He took pride in his landscaping work. Small spotlights lit up the shrubs and trees at his home. Decorative bears created a theme for the yard.
   Fowler also loved to travel. he and Gayle had visited Washington last year. They hiked in the Cascade mountains and visited the Olympic Peninsula.
   Not only did he see those places, but he had a vivid memory of the places he visited. He and Gayle had wanted to visit Kodiak, Alaska, to watch the bears snatch up the fish.
   "He did a lot, but there was so much more that he wanted to do and could have done," Laurion said.
   The family will attend a viewing tonight in Towson, Md. Services will be held Thursday in a chapel. Fowler will be buried in Delaney Valley Memorial Gardens in Timonlum, Md.
   Fowler is survived by two sisters -- Julie E. Fowler and Jessica M. Baughan and a brother, Jeremy Fowler. Laurion didn't want to talk too much about his brother-in-law. He wanted to let Gayle talk about her husband when she is ready.
   Life can be puzzling sometimes, he said about the crash.
   "There are some things you just can't find the answer to," he said.
   As Fowler's family dealt with its grief, state police continued to investigate the accident Tuesday.
   Investigators visited the crash site again and took measurements of the impounded state police cruiser and motorcycle, said Trooper Lucien Southard, a state police spokesman.
   "We probably won't have anything new for at least another week," he said.
   That is when the investigation is expected to be finished. It will then be turned over to York County District Attorney H. Stanley Rebert.
   Rebert will determine if charges will be filed against Devlin.
   But if Rebert thinks there is a conflict, he can turn the case over to the attorney general's office, said Sean Connoly, a spokesman for Attorney General Mike Fisher. "As of yet, we have not received a referral," he said.
   The case is being watched closely from coast to coast. Bikers across the United States are burning up the information superhighway, swapping information about Fowler's death.
   A message posted Monday night on a biker Web site, www.freebikers.com, by Rick Henry of Lititz, Pa. has attracted more than 300 e-mail responses expressing "absolute outrage."
   "People are saying, 'The cop is going to get away with it. Tell (the widow) to sue, '" said Henry, who two weeks ago founded a Pennsylvania chapter of Bikers of Lesser Tolerance, a California based bikers' rights group.
   The message alleges that state police will attempt a cover-up.
   "We expect everything possible will be done by the authorities to relinquish Trooper Devlin of any responsibility . . . At worst, we expect him to get a disciplinary warning letter."
   Copies of the two-page message were sent to news media outlets, the lieutenant governor and to state senators. From his Web site, Henry has made it possible for mass e-mailing to the state Senate.
   Henry, who is known in cyberspace as "Animal," believes anyone other than a state trooper would have wound up in jail after the crash, facing charges ranging from a traffic infraction to vehicular manslaughter.
   Henry said he is demanding "equal treatment for the trooper. Compromise is not in our vocabulary."
   He promises bikers will monitor the case as it goes forward, and Henry said he will check with a lawyer about placing Devlin under citizen's arrest.
   An arrest would have been immediate if a biker had killed a cop, the letter claims.
   "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, the message concludes. "We'll see if it does the same for Gerald Devlin."