Photo by Ken Gregory.
7/22/14: The unidentified young man who was seriously injured in Saturday’s accident at 47th and Cedar has died, according to police. Police confirmed that the man was riding a dirt bike on Saturday night and was speeding when he crashed into a flatbed truck near 47th and Cedar.
7/19/14, 10:50 p.m.: Police are on the scene near 47th and Cedar investigating an accident reportedly involving an ATV whose rider is seriously injured. The accident took place around 10 p.m. when a young man in his 20’s riding a small motorized bike with no lights on southbound on 47th sped through a few stop signs and hit an AAA flatbed truck (pictured), according to witnesses.
A witness said that after the collision the ATV rider flew many yards and landed near Suzuki Piano studio on the corner of 47th and Cedar. The man appeared to be seriously injured and was taken to the hospital.
Police were on the scene and interviewed the truck driver. We’ll update when we have more information.
July 21st, 2014 at 10:52 am
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July 22nd, 2014 at 6:05 pm
What a tragedy.
I see young kids whizzing around the neighborhood all the time, disregarding stop lights and going against traffic, often just wearing shorts and a t-shirt (no gloves, helmet or any other protective gear). It is sad, but I can’t say that I’m surprised.
July 24th, 2014 at 10:44 am
Was it a dirtbike or was it an ATV?
July 24th, 2014 at 11:36 am
I had a pair of dirtbikes stolen over on 48th last year. Saw the kid riding it every day, police refused to do anything about it.
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July 24th, 2014 at 12:00 pm
I wondered why the police barricaded that general area when I was looking for parking that night…
I see and hear dirt bikers and ATV riders haphazardly careening down 47th and occasionally Baltimore with disregard for traffic lights and the safety of others.
Good thing that no other vehicles were damaged in this accident.
July 24th, 2014 at 2:21 pm
Hey NB,
same thing happened to me last fall.
Garage on 48th was broken into, two dirtbikes stolen in the middle of the night. I constantly saw them being ridden on the other side of Baltimore, around 52nd and Florence.
Cops said they wouldn’t chase them, but if I found out where they were being kept, the detectives would investigate… I never did find out. I decided it wasn’t worth my life, because ya know, the kids shoot each other over iPhones and stuff.
If the machine was indeed stolen, then yes, sounds like a good ending.
If not, a great story on why helmets are important.
July 24th, 2014 at 2:23 pm
I suppose in an open forum we are free to express our opinions. Mine is disappointment is the apparent lack of empathy among some of my neighbors.
July 24th, 2014 at 2:56 pm
Empathy?
You think we should feel empathy for people riding stolen, non street legal motorcycles in a negligent manner, all with complete disregard for their safety and the safety of others… when they die? While not wearing a helmet?
We should empathy for what exactly?
July 24th, 2014 at 3:17 pm
When somebody dies? All of those people whose lives are impacted by that person. Family and friends. Did he have a mother? Children? How do you think that they would react to somebody posting “good ending” or “at least no other vehicles were damaged.” At a minimum, a reasonable person’s responsibility is to be restrained and respectful. The usership of this site is a small community where people know one another. Is this really a concept that needs teaching to the presumable adults posting here?
July 24th, 2014 at 4:48 pm
My condolences to the family and friends of the young man in this time of sadness.
July 24th, 2014 at 11:07 pm
Thanks Corey, I appreciated what you had to say. I wince when opening comments for posts about the ATV riders, as similar discussions and comments have ensued previously. I think we can mentally “hold” it all – the frustrations about dangerous riding and police not responding as well as the profundity of losing any person in this world, especially suddenly. I can’t get down with the “he deserved it” rhetoric or even implications as it’s victim-blaming and just not right, in my opinion. It would be tragic if/when those not participating are injured or god forbid killed because of this behavior, but that doesn’t undermine the deep loss of a young man. My sympathies to his family, loved ones, and community.
July 26th, 2014 at 10:13 am
51st, I can agree with you that the “he deserved it” rhetoric is “just not right”, as you say. People can think whatever they want, but to say it here is a little crass. However, to say “it’s victim-blaming” is a bit of a stretch. That term is starting to get over-used, in my mind. It’s usually meant in cases where someone falls victim to a crime perpetrated against them, followed by some insinuation like “yes but look at what she was wearing” or “yes but why was he on the sidewalk at 3am”.
I don’t think the concept of “victim blaming” (as a negative) applies in cases where someone is harmed through no fault but their own illegal activity. Using it here dilutes its meaning in cases (like rape) where it’s actually a real problem.
It is, though, fair to say that this boy has suffered greatly as a consequence of his choices, his family and friends are suffering now, and there’s no need for us to kick dirt in that wound. I’m sorry for their loss.
July 26th, 2014 at 1:32 pm
With all due respect, I don’t think it’s crass for residents to voice the equivalent of ‘good riddance’ upon learning of the young man’s death. Some of the commenters here seem intent on elevating a private ethic of empathy or mercy over a public ethic of justice or civic virtue. Both ethics have much to commend them, but they aren’t necessarily commensurable, and it’s therefore wrong to measure the one by the yardstick of the other (and surprise, surprise, to find it wanting).
If I respond to the young man’s death from an identity that privileges a private ethic of empathy, then I will focus on the tragedy of the individual death and those who will be affected by it (just as the death of each Confederate soldier in the Civil War was an individual tragedy; a sardonic public ethic might respond, ‘Thank goodness for all those individual tragedies’).
But that’s not the only legitimate way of responding to this news. If I respond to the young man’s death from an identity that privileges a public ethic of civic virtue or the public good (and as a socialist, it’s a safe bet that I do), I might focus instead on the threat the man’s behavior posed to his neighbors. His family, friends, and those who hold to a private ethic of empathy can mourn him, but as a member of the public, I’m not required to do so (least of all on a public forum such as this–after all, this isn’t the family’s private online book of remembrance). As a member of the public, I can express–on a public forum–my relief that this man’s death removed an active threat to the public. When viewed from a private empathetic perspective, those sentiments can seem cold-hearted, but they’re no less ethical than empathy (the object of my empathy is just the public itself instead of the young man and his family).
July 26th, 2014 at 7:38 pm
No one wants people speeding through our neighborhood on dirt bikes, and no one wants people to die in accidents like these. How can we proactively move forward? Any suggestions on how to stop this behavior, and hopefully in doing so, prevent more deaths like this one?
July 26th, 2014 at 8:56 pm
I was hit by one of those “12 o’clock boys” on 20th and Tasker. He was doing a wheelie about 40mph through a stop sign. He took out the back, side panel, and side door of my car. Thousands of dollars in damage. He flew 30ft through the air without a helmet, got back on his bike and drove from the accident scene. A local contractor that witnessed this in his van, follow him, and watched him hide the motorbike in a house. Police still didnt catch him and im fucked as for my damages. Police can’t chase them, and the trend is spreading. Theres even a documentary on this “culture”. Something needs to be done.
July 26th, 2014 at 9:48 pm
The Daily News or Inquirer had a series of articles on this problem last year. I will never forget that a mother of a kid on an ATV who was killed or injured as a result of a police chase talked about how she bought the bike for her kid, and how the cops were in the wrong for chasing him.
The people who race these vehicles at crazy speeds, often going the wrong way on the wrong side of the street, often in the bike lane through stop signs and traffic lights, sometimes through heavily populated public parks, are not “victims.” They are menaces to innocent people and terrors to our communities. And apparently their family and friends are encouraging their behavior.
Draw whatever conclusions you choose from the above.