Welcome to NESR! Most features of this site require registration, including replying to threads, sending private messages, starting new threads, and uploading files. Click here to register.

Results 1 to 6 of 6

Deals Gap/past weekend News

  1. #1
    Twin Addict Half Squid's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2001
    Location
    Pepperell, MA
    Age
    49
    Posts
    9,052

    Deals Gap/past weekend News

    It was a bad weekend at Deals Gap. Wishes for a speedy recovery to all involved...


    Motorcyclists critical after accident - Florida couple airlifted from U.S. 129
    2005-04-19
    by Darren Dunlap of The Daily Times Staff

    A Florida motorcyclist and his passenger were in critical condition at the University of Tennessee Medical Center Monday after a crash on U.S. 129.

    The motorcycle crash happened Monday afternoon on ``The Dragon,'' an 11-mile section of the highway between Tab Cat Creek and the North Carolina state line. The Dragon is popular with motorcyclists because of its many curves.

    Pensacola, Fla., residents Thomas J. Strassheim, 55, and wife, Sharon Strassheim, 51, were traveling southbound and negotiating a curve on U.S. 129 when he hit a rock, lost control of his 2001 Harley Davidson and hit an embankment, according to a Tennessee Highway Patrol report.

    The Strassheims were airlifted by Lifestar to UT Medical Center. The Blount County Sheriff's Office assisted the THP.

    The Monday crash is the fifth one on The Dragon since Friday. There were three motorcycle crashes on Friday, and the fourth happened about 1 p.m. Saturday and involved Edmund Ware, 51, Taylor, S.C., and wife, Sylvia Ware, 46.

    They were traveling north on the U.S. 129 when Edmund Ware wrecked his 2004 Honda Shadow.

    The South Carolina couple was airlifted by Lifestar to UT Medical Center where they were listed in stable condition on Monday evening.

    Lifestar busy in Blount
    2005-04-17
    by Anna C. Irwin of The Daily Times Staff

    Three injured motorcyclists were airlifted from U.S. 129 Friday by Lifestar and two more on Saturday. Almost all the crashes occurred on the Dragon, the 11-mile section of the highway between Tab Cat Creek and the North Carolina state line famous in motorcycling circles for its 318 curves.

    Tail of the Dragon Web site at www.tailofthedragon.com reported in its news section posted Saturday morning that there were ``at least five accidents on or near the Dragon'' Friday with four people taken to hospitals, three of them airlifted due to the severity of their injuries.

    According to Tail of the Dragon, ``BCSO (Blount County Sheriff's Office) began a stricter enforcement in the afternoon (on Friday) -- and we can't blame them. If you are coming to the Dragon this weekend, we advise you to ride safe and within the law.''

    According to the Web site, motorcyclists who ride Suzuki's Hyabusa model were gathering at Robbinsville, N.C., for Busa Bash III, an event which included rides throughout the area including the Dragon.

    Sheriff James Berrong confirmed that he put extra officers on the winding highway Friday afternoon, funding the extra patrol with some of the money from a highway safety grant. He said efforts to keep motorcyclists and other motorists who use U.S. 129 safe will continue. He also said he appreciates the safety messages displayed on the Web site and hopes riders take heed.

    At 11:15 a.m. Friday, Tennessee Highway Patrol Trooper Ernest Marion responded to a motorcycle crash on U.S. 129 about a mile from the Monroe County line. Martin said Tomas Hradil, 30, of Chicago was thrown off his bike on a curve and the motorcycle caught fire.

    Rural/Metro Ambulance Service paramedics determined that Hradil's injuries appeared serious enough to require airlifting him to University of Tennessee Medical Center by Lifestar. He was treated in the emergency room and had been released Saturday evening.

    At 12:06 p.m. Friday, Blount County Sheriff's deputies investigated a crash on U.S. 129 near the Tennessee/North Carolina line. Paul J. Sisilli, 42, of Port St. Lucie, Fla., was headed northbound down the Dragon when he lost control of his Suzuki Hyabusa motorcycle and went into a ditch.

    Again, Rural/Metro Ambulance Service paramedics called for Lifestar to take Sisilli to UT Hospital. He was listed in stable condition Saturday.

    Shortly before 2 p.m. Friday, Trooper Bryan Martin responded to a motorcycle crash near the 6-mile marker on the Dragon. He said James Henry III, 35, of Georgia was negotiating a curve when he lost control and went off a 15-foot embankment. Henry was also airlifted to UT hospital, treated and later released.

    Around 1 p.m. Saturday, Trooper Brent Cagle investigated a motorcycle crash on the Dragon that sent both people aboard the bike to UT hospital by Lifestar. Details of the accident and names of the victims were not available Saturday evening.

    In addition to the three motorcycle accidents Friday requiring the services of Lifestar, the medical evacuation helicopter responded to Blount County two more times, picking up someone injured in a horseback riding accident near Tremont in Great Smoky Mountains National Park at a landing zone in Townsend and transporting a man injured in a lawnmower accident at Walland.

    The five Lifestar trips to Blount County is believed to be a record number of responses here in a single day.

    Motorcycle crash victim upgraded to serious condition
    (NOTE: This accident did NOT occur on the Dragon, but near the US129/SR336 intersection just 13 miles from the Dragon on the TN side.)
    March 23, 2005
    by Anna C. Irwin of The Daily Times Staff

    A Knoxville man critically injured in a motorcycle crash on Sunday was upgraded to serious condition on Tuesday but remains in the intensive care unit at University of Tennessee Medical Center.

    The accident happened on Calderwood Highway (U.S. 129) about half a mile past Six Mile Road, a location known as Dead Man's Curve, at 3:03 p.m. Sunday.

    According to Trooper Matt Fagiana of the Tennessee Highway Patrol, 29-year-old Michael A. Long was traveling toward Maryville on a 2001 Yamaha sports motorcycle. He was riding with a friend, 21-year-old Derrick May of Knoxville.

    May told Fagiana that he and Long were traveling about 90 miles an hour with Long about six bike lengths back when they went into the curve. Long's motorcycle apparently drifted into the on-coming traffic lane on the curve and struck a 1998 Jeep Cherokee Sport head-on.

    Frederick Plemmons, of Daisey Circle, Maryville, was at the wheel of the Jeep with his wife, Joyce, in the front passenger seat. They said Long hit the windshield of the Jeep, then was thrown approximately 40 feet by the impact. The Plemmons were not injured.

    Fagiana said Long was unconscious and obviously had extensive injuries when he reached him. Rural/Metro Ambulance Service paramedics began life-saving efforts while a Lifestar medical evacuation helicopter flew to the scene and sat down in a landing zone established by Blount County Sheriff's deputies.

    Long was taken to UT Medical Center and admitted to the trauma intensive care unit where he was initially listed in critical condition.

    Fagiana said Long's driver license listed an address in Greeneville but he was told the injured man now lives in Knoxville. The trooper said May told him this is the second time Long has been severely injured in an motorcycle accident.

    0 Not allowed! Not allowed!
    Rides: 13 Hyperstada, 09 SFV650, 97 CBR 900RR
    www.tailofthedragon.com
    RIP A.B. RIP BEET, I Ride in Leathers because I would rather sweat than Bleed...

  2. #2
    Lifer bbhzx10's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2004
    Location
    North shore
    Age
    46
    Posts
    1,003

    Deals Gap/past weekend News

    It would be great if none of us made the papers for the rest of the season, don't you think??

    0 Not allowed! Not allowed!
    2001 Silver ZX-12R... RIP
    2005 KDX 200

  3. #3

    Deals Gap/past weekend News

    I wonder what the statistics of accidents per miles traveled on a bike vs. horse or lawnmower would reflect?

    0 Not allowed! Not allowed!
    A man who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself. - John Stuart Mill

  4. #4
    I kick hippies...and Kham Nikon's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2003
    Location
    Lakes Region, NH
    Age
    18
    Posts
    6,907

    Deals Gap/past weekend News

    Originally posted by bbhzx12
    It would be great if none of us made the papers for the rest of the season, don't you think??
    sounds like a plan to me

    0 Not allowed! Not allowed!
    Bras cause cancer.

  5. #5
    Twin Addict Half Squid's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2001
    Location
    Pepperell, MA
    Age
    49
    Posts
    9,052

    Deals Gap/past weekend News

    Originally posted by bbhzx12
    It would be great if none of us made the papers for the rest of the season, don't you think??
    Yes a good cause to support. I dont want to read about or witness any more accidents with friends involved, that goes for all members here and the other sites I am on..

    Ride safe and always watch out for the other guy!!

    0 Not allowed! Not allowed!
    Rides: 13 Hyperstada, 09 SFV650, 97 CBR 900RR
    www.tailofthedragon.com
    RIP A.B. RIP BEET, I Ride in Leathers because I would rather sweat than Bleed...

  6. #6
    Everybody to the limit!
    Join Date
    Apr 2003
    Location
    Winchester, MA
    Age
    43
    Posts
    6,878

    Deals Gap/past weekend News

    Originally posted by ChR1s
    I wonder what the statistics of accidents per miles traveled on a bike vs. horse or lawnmower would reflect?
    lawnmower?

    I heard that there are approximately 5x more deaths per miled travelled via pogostick than via bike

    Deaths / (Miles Travelled / Average Speed) is a more useful metric.

    0 Not allowed! Not allowed!

Similar Threads

  1. This Past Weekend
    By mycirus in forum Rides & Events
    Replies: 6
    Last Post: 10-05-07, 03:33 PM
  2. Took the MSF-Basic this past weekend
    By Proulx06 in forum General Bike Related
    Replies: 4
    Last Post: 06-07-05, 01:23 PM
  3. NE Bike Expo this past weekend
    By gixxer6 in forum General Bike Related
    Replies: 4
    Last Post: 01-14-03, 10:04 AM
  4. My trip To VIR this past weekend
    By Mille2theFutura in forum General Bike Related
    Replies: 13
    Last Post: 08-16-02, 08:40 AM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •