RIP - Rider and Pillion

[Bruce]

At 2 am this morning, an accident occurred on University drive.

The 20 year old male rider died at the scene, his 18 year old female pillion died later in hospital.

Condolences to both families, and may they rest in peace.

[wizard]

sad news

[Brad]

I went to Brandon this morning, left just after 2am... normally I go that way but went via the office so I missed seeing the scene, thankfully.

Another sad event.

[RustyGT]

Young bloke, young bird, get killed in town, on a bike, early sunday morning?
Fucksake.

As sad as it will be for friends and family.

This not a sad event. It is a violent destructive event.

You really must ask what the hell they were doing out on a bike at 2AM, late saturday nite.

[yes, i know the obvious answer]

My condolences to those involved.

But dont think we should not be asking questions here.
Events like this are preventable.

R.

[GBM-262]

I passed the crash scene after leaving the hospital early monday morning....

It was actually at the top of the overpass that links Riverside Ridge and Riverside gardens. ( the one that goes over the ring road )

at a bit past 4am they had multiple ambo's, fireys, and cops galore. by the time i went through they had lighting towers up pointing down onto the roundabout up there....

It's a tragic loss and we can't automatically think the worse of the rider, for all anyone knows we was a baker about to start his shift and was dropping his mrs home on the way to work....

My thoughts are with the family of the 2 involved.

[Jake]

i heard the cop's radio calls for this accident over the scanner while at work, and our patrollie (who rides as well) drove past the scene as he had to get up to one of our sites at the top of riverside ridge...

such a tragic waste of young lives, reading in the paper this morning the two of them only just met at a party, and both decided to try a mate's bike (apparently 1300cc and on loan while the mate's 600cc bike was being repaired) - a bad call by both of them, an accident that could have been avoided completely :(

my condolences to their family and friends :(

[Bruce]

I passed the crash scene after leaving the hospital early monday morning....

It was actually at the top of the overpass that links Riverside Ridge and Riverside gardens. ( the one that goes over the ring road )

at a bit past 4am they had multiple ambo's, fireys, and cops galore. by the time i went through they had lighting towers up pointing down onto the roundabout up there....

It's a tragic loss and we can't automatically think the worse of the rider, for all anyone knows we was a baker about to start his shift and was dropping his mrs home on the way to work....

My thoughts are with the family of the 2 involved.

Thank you Kurt. I had a rant at Rusty then deleted it. And very well put by the way

[alpal]

This is very sad, I feel very sorry for the young lives lost and their families grief. It is not really right to blame riders whether the facts are known or not, it could be anyone of us, I for one can look back and think the same fate could have happened to me many times, sometimes me being stupid having fun other times me being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

[RustyGT]

From the Townsville Bulletin
http://www.townsvillebulletin.com.au...8031_news.html

April 6th, 2009
TWO Townsville families have been devastated following the tragic death of Luke Matthews, 20, and Crystal Green, 18, in the early hours of Saturday morning.
The pair were killed when the high-powered motorbike they were travelling on smashed into a guard rail near the roundabout to Riverside Ridge.
The pair had only just met that night when they decided to take a ride on a friend's motorbike during a birthday party in Douglas.
Police said the pair were overtaking a taxi along Angus Smith Drive about 1.45am on Saturday when Luke lost control.

Their bodies were found about 70m from where the motorcycle stopped and Luke was declared dead on the scene, while Crystal died later in hospital.
Last night the two families spoke of their heartbreak and issued a warning to teenagers to think twice about the consequences of their actions.
Luke's parents Gail and Geoff Matthews said their son lived life on the edge and was always there for his friends.
Crystal was the oldest of five siblings, while Luke was the youngest of five.
"He left behind a legacy of wonderful friends and family – four brothers, his mum, his dad, his grandmother and nieces and nephews," Mrs Matthews said.
Just one month ago Luke had finished a four-year apprenticeship as a plumber and had been given extra responsibilities at work, flying to Palm Island during the week and leading a group of apprentices to carry out maintenance.
Crystal was completing her Certificate III in Child Care and her parents Michelle Pearce and Stephen Green said she loved every minute of it.
"She loved life, she had heaps of friends who all thought the world of her," Ms Pearce said.
The family moved to Townsville three years ago when Crystal's younger sister Jade was receiving treatment for cancer.
"Crystal used to go to treatment with Jade when she had the chemo, she used to take the day off school and I would pick them up and they'd both be asleep curled up on the bed and the nurses used to say they looked like little angels," Ms Pearce said.
Mrs Matthews said her son was a natural daredevil who would practise backflips on his BMX at the Murray Skate Park.
"He just loved those wheels under him, he loved the feeling," she said.
Luke was a member of the Townsville BMX Club from the age of 12 and had competed in national, state and local competitions. He later joined the Rockwheelers Club when he discovered a love for mountain biking.
"He always wanted a motorbike and Geoff and I really tried to encourage him not to get one," Mrs Matthews said.
His friends described him as friendly and a `go-getter', who always made time for those he cared about.
"He came back on Friday night and he said `Mum, I'm going to an 18th birthday party in Douglas and I'll see ya later' and I watched him walk out that door and said `okay mate, see ya later'," Mrs Matthews said.
Luke and Crystal's shared love for motorbikes brought them together when they made the split-second decision to ride a friend's motorbike.
Ms Pearce said her daughter loved motorbikes, beginning when she was just a baby and would get excited whenever she heard her father's Harley roar home.
"I think they were both doing what they loved but I just think kids really need to think of the consequences," Ms Pearce said.
"When you're young you think you're indestructible but you're not and they really need to think about the choices they make."
Mrs Matthews said they were stunned to learn the 1300cc motor-bike had been loaned to the friend by a local motorcycle shop, while his 600cc motorbike was being repaired.
"Luke and Crystal made a bad choice to get on that bike that morning but the thing is why so much power, why do vehicles like that need to be on the suburban streets of Townsville. That's not right," she said.
"If we can get a message across I think that makes this somehow meaningful.
"I would encourage kids to be more careful."

[wizard]

This is very sad, I feel very sorry for the young lives lost and their families grief. It is not really right to blame riders whether the facts are known or not, it could be anyone of us, I for one can look back and think the same fate could have happened to me many times, sometimes me being stupid having fun other times me being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Very true, it was pure dumb luck that got me through my younger years on bikes. Certainly not skill nor commonsense.

[Jillie]

This not a sad event. It is a violent destructive event.

You really must ask what the hell they were doing out on a bike at 2AM, late saturday nite.R.

they were adults and consenting adults to what they were up too. but i wouldnt say that it was a violent destructive event, destructive yes definately, but you cant label it violent. violent is 100 people kicking the shit out of a pair of old granparents on the street corner.. this is an horrific accident - as all kids have - accidents, there is not a sole on here that cant say they have done dumb shit in their time.. they were just able to live to tell the story.. for now maybe the next peice of stupid shit they do might be their last
but it was an accident by calling it violent it makes it sound like he tied her to the bike kicking and screaming and drove like a maniac till he killed her..
they were out having a good time and got on a bike at the wrong time, sure things could of possibly be changed to change the outcome, but if your numbers up no matter what you do, its up!!(9that is my opinion only of course too.)
most people that old are out to the wee hours, i was - and im not a bad person because of it.. and doesnt always mean you were drunk or stoned or rootin someone elses mrs, it means they were having fun, and according to the papers they were doing something they loved.
you cant just assume cause they were young and on a ike that they were doing something dumb or stupid - werent they doing what alot of people on here like to do

Very true, it was pure dumb luck that got me through my younger years on bikes. Certainly not skill nor commonsense.

thanks for backing me up wizard....

i fell very sorry for Luke and Crystals family, i hope they know how many of us send our condolenses

the story Jake was telling us about the bike is true.. it was on loan to the riders mate from a local bikeshop as his 600 was in getting fixed

[Brett]

I typed a really really long message but decided against it.

Ok the story capped it off really well. Cudos to the reporter very balanced


The wrong choices were made and 2 lives had been lost...absolutly terrible

It is evident to me the cause of the accident and I think all of us here could draw a similar conclusion.


You just got to know when enough is enough..

[Jillie]

From the Townsville Bulletin
http://www.townsvillebulletin.com.au...8031_news.html

Mrs Matthews said they were stunned to learn the 1300cc motor-bike had been loaned to the friend by a local motorcycle shop, while his 600cc motorbike was being repaired.

can i add to this please.. i think it is wrong for anyone so young and inexperianced to be on such a large bike.. anyone in this category..

but he would of had to ok it. the boys mate, whom i have had dealings with would of had to ok the choice of bike he was loaned. he signed the dotted line and accepted the responsibility of this bike.. he would of been offered a 50cc scooter too.

you cant blame the bike shop for it. this sales man wouldnt of pushed a bike onto someone he thought couldnt handle it.. the kid obviously had an open lincense which would mean he would of had to be riding for about 12 months (june last year the laws changed not enough time gone by to get an open lincense from a 250)

but regardless of that - it wasnt the guy who loaned the bike that had the accident.. he may well of been able to handle it. it was his mate.. Licensed?? Competent?? dont know?? perhaps poor judgement on both mates behalf..What was he doing riding the bike??

[Jake]

as Jillie says there are a lot of facts to this story that we are missing...

we can only guess at what actually happened, and that's up to the cops to work out, and tell the families



the patrollie who was on that night spoke to the taxi driver who as far as i know called the accident in... the taxi driver said he was going along the road to douglas to pick up a fare, the bike went past him, he didnt think much of it, got his fare, came back the same way he'd gone in, and found the bike just laying on the road, no sign of the rider or pillion...

he'd also said the cops had a hard time locating the two of them, and that they were unable to find Luke's body for some time after they'd arrived at the scene :(

i missed the initial radio calls for the cops to attend, but i heard their calls arriving on scene, getting roadblocks set up when they realised it was serious, and their calls for the ambo's when they'd found Crystal, but in cases like that they tend to keep a lot of stuff off the radio as they are aware that people have scanners and they never know who is listening in...

again, this really is a tragic accident, and running around pointing fingers definitely isnt going to help... we can only hope that it'll make someone else think twice about trying something like this, and perhaps make people pay a little more attention when out on the roads...

[Joe]

Tragic loss of life.

[brentons_house]

I was talking to a friend who had a few of her friends at this party and they said that Luke and the girl was drinking at the party.

[NJS]

Without knowing anything about it, I would suggest this,

talking to a friend who had a few of her friends

, falls into the gossip category.