Helmetless Crotch Rocket Driver Wipes Out, Skids 124 Feet

A 20-year-old man wiped out on his 2007 Kawasaki sports bike when driving in excess of the speed limit in the 200 block of W. Harris St. according to San Angelo police.

Traffic division investigator Brian Bylsma described the crash investigation in terms of distances.

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The biker claimed that the bike’s brakes malfunctioned and locked up. Bylsma said there is 70-foot skid mark indicting that, before the rider fell over. After falling, the bike and rider skid another 124 feet together, Bylsma said.

“It’s clear that he was driving in excess of the speed limit, and he was not wearing a helmet,” Bylsma said.

Bylsma said that part of the investigation will find out if the Kawasaki malfunctioned. A driver of a nearby car, a witness, told police that they saw a part or piece fall off the bike before it fell over.

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Tending first to the crash scene were Tom Green County Sheriff’s Deputies who called in the 9-1-1 for an ambulance. The biker was complaining of a hand injury, according to the radio call to EMS. He was transported to Shannon Medical Center.

Police said the motorcyclist’s name was James Porter. The crash happened just before 4 p.m. Tuesday. The weather was clear and the roads dry. No other vehicles were involved.