NSB's biker tragedy small Ohio community's as well

Off the Wire News - Rally & Event News NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- Linda M. Lockwood, 45, was the Ohio woman on the back of a Harley-Davidson thrown from the bike operated by her companion Sunday on the opening weekend of Bike Week that resulted in her death and him clinging to his life in critical condition at Halifax Medical Center, after colliding with a fellow Ohio biker and friend as they were riding on the beachside in what is now the motorcycle rally's first fatality.

Lockwood, though is more than a statistic. She was the mother of two children and ran her own home day care.

Her biker companion, Russell Luce, 42, owner of a popular NASCAR and biker-themed bar back in Ohio and widower-father of four young adult children, was airlifted by the Volusia County Sheriff's helicopter, to Halifax Medical Center, following the 4:34 p.m. accident in the 1500 block of South Atlantic Avenue near the intersection of 5th Avenue as both bikes were heading north and collided.

Both victims were thrown from Luce's 1999 Harley-Davidson. Lockwood was transported to nearby Bert Fish Medical Center in New Smyrna Beach because it was closer for the immediate care she needed as paramedics did what they could for her. She was pronounced dead a short time later.

Neither Luce nor Lockwood, were wearing helmets, police said.

Luce and Lockwood of Conneaut, Ohio, were down here for their first big trip together with friends and two of Luce's children, since Luce's wife, Valarie, 47, died suddenly from an illness Sept. 8, 2009, at a local hospital.

The rider and passenger on the other Harley when the two bikes touched were David Levesque, 40, and Jennifer A. Levesque, 37, also of Conneaut, Ohio. They suffered minor injuries, Sgt. Michael Brouillette said.

The tragedy was not lost on several bikers who spoke about it, but asked not to be identified.

A Massachusetts biker said it "Shows how precious life is. We're all down here to enjoy the friendliness of Bike Week and something like this happens."

His girlfriend added, "You are thankful it didn't happen to you, but your heart goes out to their families and friends back home."

New Smyrna Beach's tragedy is also Conneaut, Ohio's tragedy, a small town of 13,000 residents nestled just west of the Pennsylvania city of Erie the first town inside Ohio, not far from Cleveland.

Stephanie Nesbitt, 29, who works at one of three funeral homes in Conneaut, said the fallen bikers were well known, especially Luce and his late wife, who loved NASCAR stock-car racing and motorcycles, which were themed for their "Lucie's Trackside Bar and Grill."

"In a small town like this, everyone knows everyone else," she said in a brief telephone interview late Monday night.

Chris Edle, a four-year bartender at Trackside, added, they were always doing charity motorcycle runs like Toys for Tots. Lockwood, who perished, ran a successful day-care out of her home, she added.

The Luces were fixtures in past years at Daytona 500 and Bike Week, the largest motorcycle rally in the nation with half a million bikers and second in tourism locally to the Great American Race at Daytona International Speedway. This was his first trip back down here since his wife's passing. And now he's lost his girlfriend.

"This is sad for everyone," Edle said, her voice cracking.

Original article...

http://nsbnews.net/content/247506-nsbs-biker-tragedy-small-ohi