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Police know where unsafe bikers meet, but say there's little they can do
by DAVID SCHECHTER
CARROLLTON - It was Thursday. A warm, summer night. Eric lay motionless on the grassy median of the Rayburn Tollway in Carrollton.
Eric was riding his Harley. Going the speed limit, he says, when a pack of 12 sport bikers buzzed by him, riding too close and too fast. He doesn't want his last name used, in fear of retribution from those riders.
And then the crash happened.
"It looked like a bomb went off," Eric said. "There was debris, bikes and bodies everywhere. I mean it was a big mess.”
One of the bikes collided with Eric's, spraying sparks and shooting limp riders across the pavement.
"It's like watching your own death, almost,” he said.
Remarkably, Eric was treated at a hospital and released. But the impact killed two of the riders, and critically injured another. The rest got on their bikes and fled the scene, leaving behind a stolen bike.
The Texas State Patrol says no one has been charged with a crime from that Thursday night.
But records show Thursday is a popular time for a small, but reckless, number of sport bikers to hit North Texas highways. Thursday night is also when riders gather for bike events around North Texas, meeting at restaurants, bars and businesses.
"What they're doing is no different than having a sale at North Park Mall,” said Sgt. Steve Shaw with Dallas Police.
An investigation by the Texas Highway Patrol shows the Thursday night riders who died running Eric off the road started their ride at Highways 635 and 75.
That’s where High Five Cycles, a motorcycle dealership, holds a popular Thursday night event.
A YouTube video also claims to show other Thursday night riders starting from that location. One is titled, "Stunting in Dallas, Texas after Thursday night bike night[...]" and the description says it was made "after we have left High Five Cycles."
Leslie Porterfield owns High Five.
"I don't condone anyone breaking the law or doing foolish things on a motorcycle at any time,” she said.
Porterfield has no legal duty to control the conduct of stunt riders off-premises. Police also tell News 8 that she is breaking no laws.
She said she cannot be held responsible for the behavior of a few bad actors and that Thursday-night bike events are important for her small business.
"We have a lot of people coming for tire changes and buying things like helmets,” Porterfield said.
She also said she supports the idea of opening a closed-course in the area, where stunt bikers can ride safely off the public streets.
As for the police, they say chasing a sport bike rider, at 150-miles an hour, is just too dangerous for themselves, the biker and the public.
Which raises a question: Why not make their presence known to riders before they start to ride, when police know where they are?
"We don't have any information that that's going on, and to speculate on what might happen, [well] that's not really within the realm of police work,” Sgt. Shaw said.
That's frustrating for people like Eric, who nearly died on a Thursday night.
"The problem is they don't care about anybody else but themselves,” he said.
He wonders if the next victim will be as lucky.
E-mail dschechter@wfaa.com
Eric was riding his Harley. Going the speed limit, he says, when a pack of 12 sport bikers buzzed by him, riding too close and too fast. He doesn't want his last name used, in fear of retribution from those riders.
And then the crash happened.
"It looked like a bomb went off," Eric said. "There was debris, bikes and bodies everywhere. I mean it was a big mess.”
One of the bikes collided with Eric's, spraying sparks and shooting limp riders across the pavement.
"It's like watching your own death, almost,” he said.
Remarkably, Eric was treated at a hospital and released. But the impact killed two of the riders, and critically injured another. The rest got on their bikes and fled the scene, leaving behind a stolen bike.
The Texas State Patrol says no one has been charged with a crime from that Thursday night.
But records show Thursday is a popular time for a small, but reckless, number of sport bikers to hit North Texas highways. Thursday night is also when riders gather for bike events around North Texas, meeting at restaurants, bars and businesses.
"What they're doing is no different than having a sale at North Park Mall,” said Sgt. Steve Shaw with Dallas Police.
An investigation by the Texas Highway Patrol shows the Thursday night riders who died running Eric off the road started their ride at Highways 635 and 75.
That’s where High Five Cycles, a motorcycle dealership, holds a popular Thursday night event.
A YouTube video also claims to show other Thursday night riders starting from that location. One is titled, "Stunting in Dallas, Texas after Thursday night bike night[...]" and the description says it was made "after we have left High Five Cycles."
Leslie Porterfield owns High Five.
"I don't condone anyone breaking the law or doing foolish things on a motorcycle at any time,” she said.
Porterfield has no legal duty to control the conduct of stunt riders off-premises. Police also tell News 8 that she is breaking no laws.
She said she cannot be held responsible for the behavior of a few bad actors and that Thursday-night bike events are important for her small business.
"We have a lot of people coming for tire changes and buying things like helmets,” Porterfield said.
She also said she supports the idea of opening a closed-course in the area, where stunt bikers can ride safely off the public streets.
As for the police, they say chasing a sport bike rider, at 150-miles an hour, is just too dangerous for themselves, the biker and the public.
Which raises a question: Why not make their presence known to riders before they start to ride, when police know where they are?
"We don't have any information that that's going on, and to speculate on what might happen, [well] that's not really within the realm of police work,” Sgt. Shaw said.
That's frustrating for people like Eric, who nearly died on a Thursday night.
"The problem is they don't care about anybody else but themselves,” he said.
He wonders if the next victim will be as lucky.
E-mail dschechter@wfaa.com