Another Sad Fatality This Weekend

Heather Williams was the young woman who was killed on Saturday evening at mile 111 Seward Hwy. She was 29 years old, with three children and her husband, Mike, is a member of the Alaska National Guard deployed in Iraq.

The bike she was riding was a borrowed 650 V Star.

Heather had very little motorcycle experience and no license, she had not yet been through any training. Apparently she crossed the yellow line between McHugh Creek and Beluga Point. She hit the pickup on the passenger side, an indicator of how far she was out of her lane. She was not passing a vehicle nor was alcohol a factor as first rumored.

The Alaska National Guard, along with the Red Cross, is working to transport her husband out of Iraq immediately. Our prayers go out to Mike and the rest of her family as they struggle to deal with this tragedy.

Please, please, please, PLEASE be careful on the roads out there. If you’re a new rider, please take care on the Seward going south. It’s a safety corridor to Girdwood because of how dangerous (curves, congestion, accidents) it is!

Hell, old or new…be aware! The time to be aware is not when you hear about a wreck, or when you roll by wrecked bikes and a person under blankets, or when you’re holding someone’s head level till the ambulance arrives, or picking up a bike off the rider.

The time to think about awareness isn’t while you’re turning around on a deserted highway trying to think about what you’re going to do about the fact that you’re friend and his bike are down and you’re hours from the nearest town and you’re not sure if any cell phones will work, or having to cut the chin strap of someone’s helmet as you stress and sweat taking off the helmet because you can’t be sure if they’re breathing and you need to give CPR.

The time to think about awareness is now, not when you’re leaving the emergency room after visiting someone and then meeting and escorting another injured rider back into the ER from the entrance where he is being dropped off.

Always remember to think safety when you throw a leg over your bike, not when you’re sitting next to a friend post-op after their shoulder is replaced.

Motorcycles are cool…they’re BAD ASS. They’re gas savers. They’re also extremely dangerous! There is nothing wrong with not doing something because you’re uncomfortable.

I’d rather live and be called a wimpy rider than to be remembered as a “rough-n-tumble bad ass” at my wake.

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