I’m usually driving the chase car. For a majority of my life, I’ve been around motorcycles and bikers. I would beg and cajole my dad to take me for rides around the block, and (before laws became more strict, or maybe he just didn’t follow them) he would sit me on his lap right by the tank of his Goldwing and take me for a ride. I remember when I was finally big enough to reach the pegs and we went for our first ride that actually had some distance–there was ice cream involved.
Fast forward to adult-hood and I’ve been an active supporter of Motorcycle Rights. I’ve lobbied at the state capitol, met with senators and congressmen to urge them to increase penalties for failure-to-yield the right of way/careless driving. It’s not right that a person who knocks down a stop-sign has the same penalties as a person who hits and seriously injures or kills a pedestrian, cyclist, or motorcyclist.
It is in this vein, then, that I ask for your help. I am not asking you to lobby, I’m bringing the reality home. A friend of a friend, Roy Rennhack, recently passed away due to injuries sustained in an accident caused by a failure to yield the right of way.
Rothschild Police Sergeant Kevin Ostrowski confirmed the crash happened at about 7:10 p.m. According to the preliminary investigation, Roy Rennhack, 26, was driving on Highway 51 at the intersection of Imperial Avenue when a pickup truck driven by a 17-year-old turned left in front of the motorcycle. Rennhack was taken to Aspirus Wausau Hospital with critical injuries, authorities said.
Police said Rennhack was wearing a helmet. No citations have been issued and the crash remains under investigation.
Roy was air-lifted to a nearby trauma center where he remained in critical condition. He was admitted to the intensive care unit, and stayed in a medically-induced coma in an attempt to help him heal. He lost the fight, though, and passed away on October 15th.
There are two ways that you can help the Rennhack family, and friends of Roy, cope with this tragedy–this senseless loss. If you are of the generous type, please donate to Hope for Roy. The family will be buried under medical bills for a long time to come. It’s enough of a tragedy to lose the one you love, but the hardship is compounded when the rest of your life may be lost under medical debt.
If you are the generous type, but cannot afford to donate at this time, that’s okay, too. Please re-blog this post, please share the news with your friends and family. Perhaps it will be read by someone with the ability and the generosity to make a dent in the medical bills.
Please also share this as a reminder to all to pay attention when you are driving. A motorcycle is smaller than other vehicles and so it’s easy to misjudge the speed or distance. Always look twice, and wait it out. Make sure you know what a motorcyclist is doing before you do what you’re doing. Share the road. Like they always say, it’s better to show up late than never–the only difference that waiting a few seconds is going to make is that it can avoid an accident, and everyone can get to where they’re going safely.
MegsFitness 