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It is with great sadness that I inform everyone that several days ago during a hookeyride, a 34 year old rider named Mike Negrete from Nashua, NH had a low-side crash and was paralyzed.
A group of 5 riders, including Mike met at MM Wednesday morning. [Many of you probably do not know who Mike is, since it was his first time riding with us and I don't think he has posted to SRNE before -- I had never met him before]. While deciding on a route for the day, I spoke with Mike and another rider new to the group named Adam (Blue R1 with blue leathers), asking what their riding experience was. Mike told me had had been riding for 8 or 9 years and although he did not know most of the roads in Mass., seemed eager to check them out. I mapped a route through Littleton, Harvard and Clinton, taking Rt. 62W to Rt. 122N over the top of the Quabbin Reservoir and then Rt. 202S, through Shutesbury to Rt. 116, then to Rt. 8A and back via Rt. 2/202... We left MM and the group stayed together with no separation. We stopped in Barre for water and proceeded along the route. Postitions changed and Mike, who started last, was now 4th, with Adam following him. Bill commented that I was taking it pretty easy, maybe because of the leaves he thought. Not sure, another feeling I guess. I was riding kind of apprehensive and tentative.
Rt. 122N was scenic as always and the weather was nice, sun was shining. We turned onto the road leading through Shutesbury, a newly paved twisty backroad. Pace was moderate as I glided through the turns, more back and forth than pushing. Some roads were damp where covered by the trees. About 2/3 of the way down the road, I saw Bill drifting further back in my mirror. I slowed to a crawl and contined to the end of the road ahead. He caught up and I asked where the others were. He thought they might have been caught behind a car that might have gotten in front of them from a side road and that they wouldn't have been able to pass because the road was twisty. We waited about a minute, here came the car, 10 second more, another car..no riders. We turned back. I hadn't seen any police, nor did my radar detector go off and I knew they wouldn't have been stopped by the police since we weren't going fast, so I assumed the worst. We rode back about 1/2 mile and found Mike laying to the right of our lane, as we approached a Shutesbury police officer came to the scene. Mike's bike was in our lane. We went passed and stopped. Mike was conscious and talking, not apparently in shock, just not able to move. He said his left shoulder hurt, and we thought it might be dislocated, but were unable to tell due to the bulk of his Marsee suit. He could move his right hand. He could not move his feet and said he felt no pain but felt numb.
Several minutes later the Leverett police chief arrived, followed by Amherst EMT's. Mike's helmet was removed, his suit was cut off and 6 people rolled him onto a board. He was taken via ambulance to a nearby site and life-flighted to UMass Medical Center in Worcester, MA. We were told that he had no feeling from the chest down.
Adam, who was behing Mike at the time of the accident, said he saw Mike touch his brakes before the turn, move to the left of Derek's bike, then lean over and lowside, presumably touching the wet yellow line as he rounded the damp, down hill, right hand turn. Mike's 1998 VFR motorcycle lowsided and hit a 20inch tree, bounced off and hit him in the back.
We went to Sunderland, had lunch and proceeded to UMass Medical Center. Upon our arrival we were unable to see Mike (he was undergoing a procedure, probably MRI scanning) and were told that his mother and girlfriend were in the cafeteria. We met them and learned that Mike's 5th vertebrae (I assume the C5) was crushed as was the spinal cord at that location. Mike was paralyzed from the chest down. We were told that doctors were closely monitoring his breathing (the C3 controls breathing and damage to this vertebrae would be fatal, i.e., Paul Belkus' fatality). Doctors planned to attach a halo to Mike the following day and fuse his vertebrae sometime during the coming week.
I have not spoken to Mike's family since the accident, but felt it was important to notify people who may know him, but who might not have heard of the accident, as well as others who would be concerned. Mike is still in the intesive care unit at UMass Medical Center in Worcester. At some point, after speaking to Mike's family, a fund will be established for Mike. He did not have any motorcycle insurance coverage, thankfully he has health insurance.