This just pisses me off... (biker killed)
09-19-2008, 11:08 AM
#1
Shake n Bake!
Thread Starter
This just pisses me off... (biker killed)
Cyclist killed in head-on crash
By Larissa Theodore, Times Staff
Published: Thursday, September 18, 2008 10:04 PM EDT
NEW SEWICKLEY TWP. — A Harmony Township motorcyclist died Thursday morning after a two-vehicle crash in New Sewickley Township.
New Sewickley Police Chief Ron Leindecker said Howard Gross, 27, was taken by ambulance to UPMC Passavant-Cranberry, where doctors pronounced him dead at 9:42 a.m.
The crash occurred around 8:25 a.m. in the 1200 block of Freedom-Crider Road in the area of the Tri-County Soccer Arena complex.
A 1998 Honda Civic, driven by Robert Ryder, 19, of Seven Fields was traveling west on Freedom-Crider as Gross’ motorcycle, a 2008 Harley-Davidson, was coming in the opposite direction.
Leindecker said Ryder’s car traveled across the center line and struck the motorcycle head on. Gross was thrown from the bike and hit the windshield of the car. He was wearing a helmet, Leindecker said.
Leindecker said officers investigating the accident found several heroin packets in Ryder’s car. Police took Ryder to The Medical Center, Beaver, where he submitted to blood and urine tests.
Leindecker said charges could be filed depending upon test results.
Larissa Theodore can be reached online at ltheodore@timesonline.com.
By Larissa Theodore, Times Staff
Published: Thursday, September 18, 2008 10:04 PM EDT
NEW SEWICKLEY TWP. — A Harmony Township motorcyclist died Thursday morning after a two-vehicle crash in New Sewickley Township.
New Sewickley Police Chief Ron Leindecker said Howard Gross, 27, was taken by ambulance to UPMC Passavant-Cranberry, where doctors pronounced him dead at 9:42 a.m.
The crash occurred around 8:25 a.m. in the 1200 block of Freedom-Crider Road in the area of the Tri-County Soccer Arena complex.
A 1998 Honda Civic, driven by Robert Ryder, 19, of Seven Fields was traveling west on Freedom-Crider as Gross’ motorcycle, a 2008 Harley-Davidson, was coming in the opposite direction.
Leindecker said Ryder’s car traveled across the center line and struck the motorcycle head on. Gross was thrown from the bike and hit the windshield of the car. He was wearing a helmet, Leindecker said.
Leindecker said officers investigating the accident found several heroin packets in Ryder’s car. Police took Ryder to The Medical Center, Beaver, where he submitted to blood and urine tests.
Leindecker said charges could be filed depending upon test results.
Larissa Theodore can be reached online at ltheodore@timesonline.com.
10-04-2008, 09:15 PM
#5
Shake n Bake!
Thread Starter
Update:
Man, 19, charged in crash that killed motorcyclist
By Larissa Theodore, Times Staff
Published: Thursday, October 2, 2008 11:04 PM EDT
NEW SEWICKLEY TWP. — Robert R. Ryder stayed silent as he was led out in handcuffs from his arraignment Thursday at District Judge Ed Howe’s office in Freedom.
Ryder, 19, of Seven Fields, surrendered to New Sewickley Township police Thursday on charges including homicide by vehicle and driving under the influence of morphine and marijuana.
Shortly before 8:30 a.m. Sept. 18, police said, Ryder was driving on Freedom-Crider Road in the area of the township’s Tri-County Soccer Arena complex when his car made an abrupt left turn across the center line and struck a motorcycle coming in the opposite direction.
The motorcyclist, Howard Gross, 27, of Harmony Township, was thrown from the bike and hit the car’s windshield. He was wearing a helmet.
According to a police complaint, Ryder got out of his car visibly shaken and crying, police said.
Gross was taken to UPMC Passavant-Cranberry, where doctors pronounced him dead. Gross had been on his way to work at Heinz Co. in Cranberry Township, where he and his wife of three years, Callie, worked, she said. Callie Gross said she is three months pregnant.
Patrolman Daniel Swab said Ryder told him after the crash that he had been up late studying for a college exam and had only a few hours of sleep. Ryder told Swab he remembered driving and then closed his eyes. He opened his eyes just as his car collided with Gross’ motorcycle, he told police.
Police said Ryder appeared to be lethargic and fatigued, and his eyes were bloodshot and his pupils constricted. As Ryder walked with Swab to his patrol car, he was staggering and unbalanced and had to lean on the cruiser to maintain his balance. Swab administered a sobriety test, which indicated impairment. Ryder told police he had taken a few Percocet tablets and smoked marijuana the previous night.
Ryder was transported to The Medical Center, Beaver, where blood tests showed morphine and marijuana in his system.
A search of his car turned up several stamp bags of heroin on the door panel, police said.
At the arraignment, Gross’ family wore T-shirts with his likeness that condemned driving under the influence. Family members said that Gross, as a married man with a child on the way, has been criticized for riding a motorcycle but that he had a right to ride and did so responsibly.
Gross’ mother, Esperanza Gross of Detroit, said she knows Ryder’s family is at a loss too because, in a sense, they are losing a son as well. But she said her family doesn’t want Gross’ death to be in vain.
“He can still walk around, and my son can’t,” Esperanza Gross said. “He destroyed families.”
Ryder was taken to the Beaver County Jail on $25,000 bond. If he posts bond, he must attend drug rehabilitation.
Larissa Theodore can be reached online at ltheodore@timesonline.com.
CHARGES AGAINST ROBERT R. RYDER
•Homicide by vehicle
•Homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence
•Driving under the influence of morphine
•Driving under the influence of marijuana
•Driving under the influence of a drug or combination of drugs
•Drug paraphernalia possession
•Summary traffic offenses
By Larissa Theodore, Times Staff
Published: Thursday, October 2, 2008 11:04 PM EDT
NEW SEWICKLEY TWP. — Robert R. Ryder stayed silent as he was led out in handcuffs from his arraignment Thursday at District Judge Ed Howe’s office in Freedom.
Ryder, 19, of Seven Fields, surrendered to New Sewickley Township police Thursday on charges including homicide by vehicle and driving under the influence of morphine and marijuana.
Shortly before 8:30 a.m. Sept. 18, police said, Ryder was driving on Freedom-Crider Road in the area of the township’s Tri-County Soccer Arena complex when his car made an abrupt left turn across the center line and struck a motorcycle coming in the opposite direction.
The motorcyclist, Howard Gross, 27, of Harmony Township, was thrown from the bike and hit the car’s windshield. He was wearing a helmet.
According to a police complaint, Ryder got out of his car visibly shaken and crying, police said.
Gross was taken to UPMC Passavant-Cranberry, where doctors pronounced him dead. Gross had been on his way to work at Heinz Co. in Cranberry Township, where he and his wife of three years, Callie, worked, she said. Callie Gross said she is three months pregnant.
Patrolman Daniel Swab said Ryder told him after the crash that he had been up late studying for a college exam and had only a few hours of sleep. Ryder told Swab he remembered driving and then closed his eyes. He opened his eyes just as his car collided with Gross’ motorcycle, he told police.
Police said Ryder appeared to be lethargic and fatigued, and his eyes were bloodshot and his pupils constricted. As Ryder walked with Swab to his patrol car, he was staggering and unbalanced and had to lean on the cruiser to maintain his balance. Swab administered a sobriety test, which indicated impairment. Ryder told police he had taken a few Percocet tablets and smoked marijuana the previous night.
Ryder was transported to The Medical Center, Beaver, where blood tests showed morphine and marijuana in his system.
A search of his car turned up several stamp bags of heroin on the door panel, police said.
At the arraignment, Gross’ family wore T-shirts with his likeness that condemned driving under the influence. Family members said that Gross, as a married man with a child on the way, has been criticized for riding a motorcycle but that he had a right to ride and did so responsibly.
Gross’ mother, Esperanza Gross of Detroit, said she knows Ryder’s family is at a loss too because, in a sense, they are losing a son as well. But she said her family doesn’t want Gross’ death to be in vain.
“He can still walk around, and my son can’t,” Esperanza Gross said. “He destroyed families.”
Ryder was taken to the Beaver County Jail on $25,000 bond. If he posts bond, he must attend drug rehabilitation.
Larissa Theodore can be reached online at ltheodore@timesonline.com.
CHARGES AGAINST ROBERT R. RYDER
•Homicide by vehicle
•Homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence
•Driving under the influence of morphine
•Driving under the influence of marijuana
•Driving under the influence of a drug or combination of drugs
•Drug paraphernalia possession
•Summary traffic offenses
