Peaceful bike week had few arrests, many crashes

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http://sentinelsource.com/articles/2010/06/21/news/state/free/id_404293.txt Peaceful bike week had few arrests, many crashes

By Annmarie Timmins Concord Monitor Published: Monday, June 21, 2010 LACONIA — It may have started with rain, but Motorcycle Week ended Sunday with three solid days of sunshine, good spirits and few arrests, organizers and the police said.

Charlie St. Clair, executive director of Laconia Motorcycle Week Association, didn’t have a crowd count Sunday, but said a world map kept at rally headquarters showed visitors came to the Weirs from all over America plus parts of Europe, South America and Canada.

“We had all 50 states covered by Thursday,” he said. “The last state was Alabama. It finally fell on Thursday.”

Sunday saw no major accidents or arrests as motorcyclists were leaving Laconia and the 87th annual motorcycle rally. State police officials could not be reached Sunday, but during a final rally press conference Saturday, Maj. Russ Conte said the week had been a peaceful one with few arrests, the Citizen of Laconia reported.

The exception, Conte said, were fatal motorcycle accidents that occurred during the week.

On Saturday, a 42-year-old Bradford man was killed after hitting a utility pole on Route 114 in Warner, the state police said.

Christopher F. Magistro failed to negotiate a curve and crashed, the police said. They don’t believe alcohol was a factor, but they said it appears speed and Magistro’s motorcycle inexperience played a role. Magistro was also not wearing a helmet, the police said.

Magistro worked as a mechanic and technician for AGS Services, according to an obituary.

On Friday, a New Hampshire man died after failing to negotiate a turn on Roller Coaster Road in Laconia, the police said. The man, who has not been identified, crashed after leaving the roadway and was pronounced dead at the scene, the police said.

The police have said a preliminary investigation suggests speed was a factor.

And the day before, a Massachusetts man, Michael Bator, 56, died in Campton after his motorcycle crossed the center line on Route 175. He collided with a pickup truck, the police said. That crash remains under investigation.

A handful of other accidents resulted in injuries, some of them serious.

Sunday, the Laconia police and fire departments were called out after a motorcyclist reportedly hit a pedestrian. Two patients were treated.

Saturday was a busy day for the police in Meredith, Moultonboro and Monroe.

In Meredith, a 55-year-old Vermont man riding in a group of motorcycles was hit by a vehicle making a U-turn on Parade Road, the police said. The driver of the vehicle, an 18-year-old New Hampton man, had missed a turn and then quickly made a U-turn to correct himself, the police said.

When he did, he hit the Vermont motorcyclist. The biker was transported to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center with serious, but not life-threatening injuries, the police said.

In Moultonboro, two people from Plympton, Mass., suffered non-life-threatening injuries after their motorcycle crashed on Paradise Drive, near Route 109 about 2 p.m. David Alverti, 58, and Vicki Maloney, 53, crashed into rocks and a tree, the police said.

In Monroe, a 25-year-old Monroe man lost control of his motorcycle on Route 135 about 10:30 p.m. and came to rest at the end of a private driveway, the police said.

The driver, Gordon Cate, was found unconscious at the scene and was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries.

On Thursday, a Laconia police officer was hit by a motorcyclist while patrolling on a bicycle on Lakeside Avenue, the police said.

Motorcyclist Zachary Morton, 27, of Manchester, was traveling north when he hit a bike ridden by Officer Kathleen Yale, 56, the police said.

Yale was transported to Lakes Region General Hospital and treated for multiple minor injuries, the police said.

St. Clair said rain had plagued the first several days of the rally but that visitors were still coming to the Weirs — and spending money. “I think they are spending more money this year than last year,” he said.

They were either optimistic about the economy or all lottery winners, he said.

St. Clair and staff and volunteers will spend today tidying up from the rally. Tuesday, St. Clair heads to a motorcycle rally in Pennsylvania — and it’s not for vacation.

“We will be promoting Laconia down there,” he said.