Motorcycle crashes turn fatal
The incidents occurred within 11 hours of each other.
Jan. 29, 2008
Two men died from motorcycle crashes in Columbia Monday, police said.
Brian L. Ricketts, 23, and Mark E. Kompass, 22, died within 11 hours of one another Monday morning.
These crashes are the second and third traffic fatalities of the year.
Ricketts crashed his Honda motorcycle into a pole around 1:34 a.m. on East Walnut Street, just a few blocks from his residence.
Columbia Police Officer Alan Hulett said a witness on the scene smelled alcohol in the air immediately after the crash.
Under Missouri law, motorcycle drivers must wear helmets. Hulett said Rickett was wearing a half-bowl helmet, which is not considered acceptable headgear in Missouri. He said he does not know whether this contributed to the fatality.
Ricketts was taken to University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Senior Adam Daniels, who called the police and said he was on the scene within 20-30 seconds of the crash, said he did not smell alcohol.
“I checked for a pulse and there certainly was none, and his face was bleeding,” Daniels said. Daniels is a Maneater staff member.
Kemper was traveling north on Rock Quarry Road and his Buell motorcycle flipped end-over-end and ejected him. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
A news release stated excessive speed is believed to be a contributing factor in the crash.
Columbia Police Department Capt. Zim Schwartze said alcohol and excessive speed are the most common causes of traffic fatalities.
There were no traffic fatalities in Columbia in January 2007. There were eight fatal crashes leading to eight traffic deaths in 2007, and none of them involved a motorcycle.
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