Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Oregon Biker Season Opens

OFF THE WIRE
 agingrebel.com
Oregon Biker Season Opens
An anonymous, Oregon couple drew first blood near Eugene Sunday as the state’s biker killing season got underway. Police described the couple as a man and woman in their 20s. The biker, who police also refused to name, lived.
A witness named Dena Turner saw the botched kill. “This car just … flew by me,” Turner told Portland television station KOIN. “He flew into the middle of these motorcycle riders, and forced this guy off the road – and he wrecked.” Turner stopped to aid to wounded biker. “I was stabilizing his head until the ambulance got there,” she told the CBS affiliate. “And he was coherent, he wasn’t in shock.”
The driver of the Toyota Corolla “didn’t stop at the scene of the crime,” the witness continued. “He ran a guy off the road and kept going.” It is possible the Corolla driver did not notice that his intended victim was riding in a pack until it was too late. His actions indicate that he did know that a pack of bikers can be dangerous prey.

Hey! You! Stupid!

The pack included members of the Brother Speed Motorcycle Club. Two of them, Kenneth J. Cornell and Phillip A. Davis pursued the hit and run driver and attempted to arouse his attention. The men followed the Corolla for almost 20 miles. Cornell pounded on the car with his bare hands. Davis allegedly struck the Corolla with a get back whip. He succeeded in breaking the car’s rear window with the simple device but the driver still refused to stop.
A get-back whip (photo above) is four-foot-long leather braid with a quick-release hook on one end. The hook is used to fasten the whip to a motorcycle’s rear brake lever. The device is usually only decorative. However it can be swung by the braided end to garner the attention of motorists who attempt to bully or harm bikers. Occasionally, the whips may cause minor cosmetic damage to cars when they are employed in this manner.
As the Corolla and the two bikes approached Eugene an impromptu task force that included officers of the Oregon State Police, Lane County Sheriff’s Office and Eugene Police Department stopped all three vehicles on Highway 126 near West 11th Street at Beltline Road in Eugene.

Victims Saved, Bad Guys Cuffed

“They were extremely frightened,” Oregon State Police Lieutenant Gregg Hastings told the Eugene Register-Guard about the attempted murderers in the Corolla. The young couple was hugged and released. At this time it is unclear whether they will be offered trauma counseling.
Cornell was charged with harassment, menacing, reckless driving, recklessly endangering another person and unlawful possession of a controlled substance. Davis was charged with harassment, menacing, reckless driving, recklessly endangering another person and criminal mischief in the second degree.
Amber Johnson, who was riding on the back of Cornell’s bike was arrested after she slapped the hand of a Eugene Police officer who she believed was touching her inappropriately. She was charged with harassment and resisting arrest.


 
  1. Oregon State Police arrested the driver, but the two charges didn’t include hit and run. Hopefully, the patch holders will see their charges dropped or reduced asap:
  2. http://www.kpic.com/news/local/Car-driver-arrested-in-motorcycle-retaliation-incident-147852295.html