Deer/Bike Collision Kills Rider near Lufkin

[DANNYROTH]

10/25/2007

A motorcycle rider died after hitting a deer in Angelina County on FM 2497 two miles south of state Highway 94 at 12:05 a.m. Thursday, according to the Department of Public Safety communications office. Ronnie Lewis, 48, of Diboll was riding a 1980 Kawasaki motorcycle southbound on FM 2497 when a deer entered the road, a DPS spokesman said.

I was told that the rider was wearing a helmet, leather jacket & chaps.

[Hemibee]

Prayers out for the rider's family and friends.

[Ghost Rider]

Sad. Just very sad. It can be tough enough to see the deer during the daytime hours, let alone during the middle of the night. It will be interesting to see how the motorcycle community comes out to honor a fellow rider.

[Tourmeister]

:tab We drove down to North Houston this evening. There were multiple herds along the side of the interstate between Huntsville and Conroe. An unusual number of them were standing right on the edge of the pavement... Amazingly, there wasn't a single carcass on the road that I saw. There were a LOT of bikes on the road...

:tab Did you know this rider Danny?

[Craig in Houston]

That's sad.
Some deer avoidance suggestions, based on experiance.
1) Never try to predict what they will do.
2) See one deer, reduce your speed, by half.
3) See another deer, reduce your speed by one/half again!
4) If you suddenly get into a "Must swerve" to avoid a collision decision with any large animal, always choose "behind" the direction the animal is heading or facing!
5) Like said, there's NO predicting what the beast will do...But they don't react or move nearly as fast backwards, as they do forwards!

[DANNYROTH]

I am not sure if I knew him of not. Backroads Ronnie thought it might be a fellow that used the handle "Fig". If so, he was an officer in the Paladin Motorcycle Club.

I will know today after I go to the Ross Motorsports Freedom Ride. The Paladins always have a pretty good representation there, although I don't run in their circle.

[JR]

It's always a tragedy when a rider makes the wrong kind of a meeting with a deer. Sad to hear this one too.

I've been seeing a GREAT increase in deer numbers around the Lake too.

More to remember: Deer are INSTINCT DRIVEN... now intelligence driven. They don't think. They REACT. Their reactions are NOT PREDICTABLE. Deer are most active at night and the 2 hours just before dark and just after sunrise. This is particularly true during RUTTING season. WHICH IS NOW....

JR
Lake Livingston
Bikeless

[DANNYROTH]

Deer don't just stay in wooded areas far from humans, they are quite numerous right in towns, also. Don't let your guard down, especially now during the Rut or when the moon is very bright, as it has been around here for the last week.

[hank327]

I drove down I-45 to Houston last weekend and saw more road killed deer than I have ever seen before. It is the height of the breeding season for deer right now so they are much more active than usual. If you see a doe run across the road in front of you, there is a very high chance that a buck will soon be along so be careful!