Two of the (at least) eighteen motor vehicle deaths last month in Connecticut took place in Hartford. Both involved motorcycles.
Crash reports can tell you a lot, but knowing an area well is what completes the puzzle.
One of these fatalities occurred at Harold and Salisbury Streets when the Suzuki GSX-R750 operator crashed into another vehicle. He had been speeding, driving recklessly, and right before the collision, ran the stop sign. He did not have a license. It was a cloudy and dry day.
The other motorcycle crash fatality was more surprising. This biker died after he rode his Harley Davidson straight on into the Goodwin Park gate at Hubbard and Victoria Roads. The report says nothing about speeding, distraction, erratic driving, or substance use. There is no sign that he did not stop on Victoria Road before attempting to proceed onto Goodwin Park Road. This happened about twenty minutes after sunset. The only commonality between these two crashes — even the bikes were very different designs — was that neither operator was wearing a helmet.
The question you should be asking is how someone is able to ride into a closed gate if he is driving a reasonable speed and has his wits about him.
Those familiar with this entrance would know the answer immediately.
There is one streetlight at the intersection, and it is not on the park side. The gate, up until the crash, was painted a flat dark green and lacked any reflective material. What you can see in the photo above has all been added after this death.
That has negligence written all over it.
Here is a look at the gate using Google Maps — image from June 2019:
Hartford has numerous other gates and barriers without reflectors. Many of these are new installations, as parks generally left open are now barricaded shut due to the pandemic. Hi-vis paint and tape are not prohibitively expensive. There is nothing that can bring back 53-year old Robert Wayne Thomas, but the City of Hartford should be proactive in ensuring that no such hazards are present again.
