U.S. News - biker

Apr

2013

12:13pm, EDT

Biker dressed as Easter Bunny pulled over by California officers

California Highway Patrol

A motorcycle rider in an Easter Bunny costume was pulled over by a California Highway Patrol officer on Saturday.

By Daniel Arkin, Staff Writer, NBC News

Move over, Mad Max. Step aside, Easy Rider. The Easter Bunny rules the road.

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A motorcyclist wearing a full Easter Bunny costume was pulled over by the California Highway Patrol early Saturday after officers on routine patrol spotted the costumed man traveling down Interstate 8 without a helmet, NBCLosAngeles.com reported.

CHP Officer Adam Griffiths reportedly radioed: “I’m stopping the Easter Bunny.”

The motorist – who was cruising in a shiny red bike with an old-fashioned sidecar – told Griffiths that he was on his way to an Easter charity event at which he was required to wear a bunny costume, including white gloves and floppy feet.

Griffiths' partner snapped a photo of the repentant rabbit, which has since circulated widely on social media networks.

Grifiths told the man that the bunny head obstructed his view and put other motorists in danger, according to local reports. But Griffiths ultimately let him off with a verbal warning instead of a citation.

“If you ride a motorcycle, you have to be aware of your total surroundings,” CHP spokesman Brian Pennings told the Los Angeles Times.

Jul

2012

5:46am, EDT

Motorcyclist killed on way to memorial for another biker who died in crash

By Pei-Sze Cheng, NBCNewYork.com

A motorcyclist was struck and killed by a fire truck in Brooklyn, New York, while he was on his way to a memorial for another biker killed in a crash one year ago.

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The motorcyclist, 46-year-old Reginald Brown of Brooklyn, was driving westbound on Monroe Avenue in Bedford-Stuyvesant when he collided with an FDNY fire truck at Marcy Avenue at about 4 p.m., officials said. He was a block away from his home.

Witness Danae Grandison said Brown's body "flew off the motorcycle," and he landed in front of a beauty salon. He was wearing a helmet.

Read the full story at NBCNewYork.com

The fire truck from Ladder Company 111 was responding to a fire at 315 Nostrand Ave., caused when a 17-year-old boy set off illegal fireworks, officials said. The truck had its lights and sirens on.

Brown was taken to Woodhull Hospital where he died, officials said.

Tiesha Safford said she was "confused" by how her cousin, who was a careful motorcyclist, could have been struck.

"He rides his bike pretty slow so I don't know how he wasn't able to hear them," said Brown's cousin Tiesha Safford. "I don't understand."

Friends told NBC 4 New York Brown was going to a memorial for a friend who died in a motorcycle crash one year ago on Utica Avenue and Avenue D in Brooklyn.

"He said he was going to change his clothes, and we were going to link up to go to the memorial for a friend of ours," said friend Sidest Mahadi.

Brown was a stickler for rules, said Mahadi.

The teen accused of using the illegal fireworks was later arrested, FDNY officials said.

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