I've been here on this site for a few months now. I'd like to think that I have built up some level of credibility by now. I have not made a habit of posting wild stuff.
Given that I have (I would like to think) built up some credibilty, I now give my assurances to some things.
1) I know this guy personally. This guy is real, the story is real, the details as much as I know them are true. (I am not the steward, so I was not involved in any meetings or hearings in any way) He is not a troll.
2) I like this guy, and the other drivers in the center liked this guy. He was not a troublemaker or a
-talker. Even though managment was all over him, he did not seem like an angry or vindictive person.
3) This guy is not a particularly articulate person. I'm not saying this to be mean, but to explain to you guys who are ready to rip him up why he might have posted stuff in the manner he did.
So....
Maybe he should have taken the offer for the combo job, but he didn't. He is here now asking for help, if any of you guys can help that would be the decent thing to do.
I feel like this situation could have happened to any of us. I expect managment to close ranks and say all the same things. How many of us have been charged with an accident for a hit while parked? But I'm saddened that a lot of guys on here that are "one of us" are ready to slam him too.
I've driven down Meridian street many thousands of times. I'm quite familiar with the intersection that the accident happened at. I can very easily picture the situation. Driver looks down the street and sees some cars coming. With their distance and speed he has plenty of time to make it across the street. He does not see the reckless motorcyclist going 2 to 3 times the speed of traffic because at the time he commits to going through the intersection he cannot see the motorcyclist who is behind other vehicles. The motocyclist who was riding a modern sportbike did not have the skills to avoid this accident.
By the way, I ride motorcycles and have for all my adult life. I am well aware that many of the guys out riding around on these crazy fast sportbikes have virtually no riding skill whatsoever. It saddens me, but long discussions about personal responsibility and rider training are really better materials for other forums.
I could have quite easily, with my modest skill level, avoided this accident were I the motorcyclist, even moving at the speed he was.
Knowing what I know about the accident, I really think it could have happened to any of us. This guy got a raw deal because he got un-lucky and managment did not like him because he did not make good numbers. If any of you can help him now, I think it would be the decent thing to do.