Motorcyclist crashes in helmet law protest, dies

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NEW YORK | Sun Jul 3, 2011 3:03pm EDT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A bare-headed motorcyclist riding in protest of New York state's helmet law crashed, struck his head on the roadway and died from his injuries, state police said on Sunday.

Philip Contos, 55, was riding among a large group of motorcyclists staging an organized protest ride in western New York near Syracuse against the state law requiring all motorcyclists to wear helmets.

The Parish, New York, resident crashed on Saturday on Route 11 in Onondaga, New York, and was pronounced dead later at a local hospital, state Trooper Robert Jureller said.

"The doctor felt that the death could have been prevented if he simply had been wearing a helmet," Jureller said. "He hit the brakes, lost control, was ejected and struck his head on the road. He suffered a skull fracture."

(Reporting by Barbara Goldberg; Editing by David Bailey)
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Comments (7)
RikkiDoxx wrote:
Okay, well it’s his head. People take chances every day in life. You could have a heart attack sitting on your couch watching TV. He chose not to wear a helmet. His death didn’t raise my insurance or my health insurance nor was I billed for either.

Jul 03, 2011 3:52pm EDT  --  Report as abuse
nosmtrthanu wrote:
rikki rikki rikki,
his death caused a hospital bill to be run up. that takes something out of your pocket one of two ways. either his insurance paid for the stay and that company may have been yours, or, he had no insurance and the hospital will pass the cost on to everyone else.
while i support motorcyclists’ right to not wear a helmet, i’m not naive enough to think that it won’t cost me a penny if something bad happens.

Jul 03, 2011 5:45pm EDT  --  Report as abuse
Zahdio wrote:
Well, I hate to say something negative about someone who has died, but you know what I’m thinking.

Jul 03, 2011 6:20pm EDT  --  Report as abuse
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