Photos for Headline Surfer / ABOVE: Bikers pack Main Street Daytona Beach, Florida the epicenter of Bike Week. And at right, a fatality crash scene. LEFT: Dannis Bish, an Orlando firefighter shown here on his Facebook page with his wife, Jayne, was killed and his spouse critically injured when his Harley was struck Saturday by a 16-year-old driver in a Mustang who made an improper left turn into their path in East Orange County. The Bishes had been in Volusia County the day before for Bike Week and it's unclear if they and another biker friend riding his own Harley and injured were returning home from the biker event when the accident occurred.
By HENRY FREDERICK / Headline News
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Already with the opening three-day weekend of Bike Week gone, two bikers have lost their lives -- one near Pierson and the other in Orlando, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
Dannis Bish, 54 and an Orlando firefighter, had noted his disappointment with the weather Friday in Samsula, home of the annual Cabbage Patch female wrestling, saying on his Facebook page, "A wet first day of Bike Week."
Ironically, Len Pinelli, a friend of Bish's, noted on his Facebook page just after noon on Friday: "Looks like Cabbage Patch is quite a mess! Be safe!" A day later Bish was dead. Whether his death goes down as an official Bike Week death remains to be seen.
Ironically, Len Pinelli, a friend of Bish's, noted on his Facebook page just after noon on Friday: "Looks like Cabbage Patch is quite a mess! Be safe!" A day later Bish was dead. Whether his death goes down as an official Bike Week death remains to be seen.
Bish was riding westbound on Colonial Drive in East Orange County on his 2002 Harley-Davidson with his wife seated behind him, along with another biker on his own Harley, Robert Martinausky, 52, also of Orlando, when their path was crossed by 16-year-old Raeann Trapp in a 1999 Mustang. The teenager turned left directly into their path from Colonial to Chuluota Road, causing the fatality, Florida High Patrol spokeswoman Sgt. Kim Montes said.
Bish's Harley collided with the side of the Mustang while his friend, dropped his own bike to avoid the collision. Bish was pronounced dead at the 9:05 a.m. Saturday crash. His wife, Jayne Bish, 53, was transported to Orlando Regional Medical Center where she was in critical condition.
Martinausky was reported in serious condition after transport to the same hospital. None of the victims were wearing helmets. Charges are pending against the young driver who was wearing her seatbelt, Montes said.
61-year-old North Carolina biker killed near Pierson after striking fence
Speed may have caused a Sunday afternoon fatal crash on Bunnell Road just east of Seville in unincorporated Volusia County outside Pierson.
The 61-year-old Concord, N.C. man crashed his 2005 Harley into a fence after losing control of the bike on a curve and leaving the roadway at a high rate of speed, Montes said. The biker struck a fence, which threw him off the bike, which then caught fire.
The victim, who was not wearing a helmet, was pronounced dead at the scene of the 4:35 p.m. accident. Alcohol may have been a factor. The man's identity is being withheld while troopers try to contact his family.
Just two days before the official start of Bike Week, a 51-year-old Las Vegas woman, 51-year-old Amber Brinton, was killed when her husband Keith Brinton's Harley was struck from behind Wednesday night by a Lincoln Navigator on U.S. 1 in Port Orange, just north of the Dunlawton Bridge.
Neither were wearing their helmets. The wife was pronounced dead a short time later at Halifax Medical Center in Daytona Beach. The husband was reported in stable condition.
Last year there were six motorcycle-related deaths. 2006 is on record as being the worst with 20 biker deaths while 2003 was the least with only one fatality.
The 10-day biker rally is billed as the largest in the U.S. with 500,000 bikers expected.
