In less than 24 hours, there were three serious motorcycle crashes on Connecticut roads that resulted in two fatalities.
In New Hartford on Monday around 5 p.m. state police said 31-year-old Robert Holcomb of Unionville was killed after he lost control of his motorcycle “for an unknown reason” and crashed into a guardrail.
An hour later, a motorcyclist was seriously injured after colliding with a vehicle in West Hartford.
Tuesday morning, a motorcyclist, who hasn’t yet been identified, was killed in Simsbury after colliding with a truck.
Get top local stories in Connecticut delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC Connecticut's News Headlines newsletter.
“These latest two fatalities put us at 42 motorcycle fatalities year to date. That puts us up around 7-8% of where we typically would be this year,” said Eric Jackson of the Connecticut Transportation Safety Research Center at UConn.
“Cars are driving a lot faster than they typically would. There are more aggressive they're running red lights and running stop signs and that's obviously bad for motorcyclists because any time that a car and motorcycle collide, the motorcyclist is going to lose,” Jackson added.
Josh Morgan with the Connecticut Department of Transportation said 2022 was the deadliest year on state and local roads.
Local
“There were 65 motorcyclists who were killed. That was just a horrific year for all roadway users. There was more than 360 people who lost their lives, that was the most since the late 1980s,” Morgan said. “It’s just so incredibly frustrating that time and again drivers are choosing to drive impaired, they’re choosing to be reckless and speed, and they’re choosing to look at their phones and be distracted.”
Sgt. Luke Davis with Connecticut State Police said, in terms of all fatalities that state police investigated, numbers are down. From January to July of 2023, CSP investigated 82 fatalities. During the same timeframe in 2024, 71 fatalities were investigated.
“We are especially in a sense of heightened awareness this time of year when there are motorcycles on the roadways,” Davis said. “Riding a motorcycle takes a lot more skill and ability than operating a car. So, you’re driving with half the wheels and should incorporate twice the level of caution.”
There are 87,000 registered motorcycles in Connecticut.
“It’s been tough, it’s been real tough,” said motorcycle rider Norman Leblanc, of Ellington. “We have to realize that we’re not only dealing with cars, we have to deal with ourselves. We have to restrict ourselves and ride the proper way. I have a slogan that I go with: remember, ride for tomorrow.”
