NY motorcyclist dies on ride protesting helmet law

Troopers say man would have likely survived if he had been wearing a helmet

updated 7/3/2011 11:59:48 AM ET

ONONDAGA, N.Y. — A motorcyclist participating in a protest ride against helmet laws went over his handlebars, hit his head on the pavement and was killed, police said Sunday.

The motorcyclist, 55-year-old Philip A. Contos, likely would have survived the accident if he'd been wearing a helmet, state troopers said.

The accident happened Saturday afternoon in Onondaga, a town in central New York near Syracuse.

Contos was driving a 1983 Harley-Davidson on a helmet protest ride organized by the Onondaga chapter of American Bikers Aimed Towards Education, or ABATE, troopers said. The organization states that it encourages the voluntary use of helmets but opposes mandatory helmet laws.

Contos, of Parish, hit his brakes, and his motorcycle fishtailed and went out of control, flipping him over the handlebars, police said. He was pronounced dead at a hospital.

New York is one of 20 states that require all motorcycle riders to wear helmets. Lobbying by motorcyclist groups has led some states to repeal helmet laws.

A helmet that meets federal standards reduces the wearer's chances of being killed in an accident by more than 40 percent, said safety consultant Jim Hedlund, of the Governors Highway Safety Association.

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Information from: The Post-Standard, http://www.syracuse.com

Officer in Clinton motorcade killed in accident

February 22, 2008

A police officer was killed Friday morning in a motorcycle accident as Sen. Hillary Clinton's motorcade made its way through downtown Dallas, police said.

The Dallas Police Department said Senior Cpl. Victor Lozada-Tirado was traveling southbound on the Houston Street viaduct when he struck a curb, lost control of the motorcycle and went down.

Lozada-Tirado was transported to Methodist Central Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

A Dallas police officer since December 1988, Lozada-Tirado was married with four children, according to police. CNN affiliate WFAA-TV in Dallas/Fort Worth reported he was 49.

There were no other vehicles involved in the accident, police said, and the motorcade was able to continue to the site without further incident.

Clinton said she called the Dallas police chief and would contact the officer's family at an appropriate time.

The Democratic presidential candidate said she is "greatly heartsick over this loss of life in the line of duty."

"I just want to express my deepest condolences to the family and to the Dallas Police Department on this tragic, tragic loss," she said.

"I am certainly grateful for all they do for me and more importantly what they do for the citizens of cities like Dallas." Watch Clinton offer her condolences

Clinton is attending rallies Friday in Texas and Ohio ahead of those states' primaries on March 4.

In the past 18 months, there have been two fatal accidents involving motorcycle officers escorting President Bush.

On August 27, Germaine Casey, an officer from Rio Rancho, New Mexico, died when his motorcycle crashed as the motorcade approached the airport in Albuquerque. The 40-year-old had been the lead motorcycle in the motorcade when the crash occurred.

On November 21, 2006, Steve Favela, a Honolulu police motorcycle officer, crashed on wet roads in Hawaii while part of the president's motorcade.

Favela, 30, died of his injuries a week later. Two other officers were injured in the crash.

http://articles.cnn.com/2008-02-22/politics/clinton.motorcade_1_mot...