Fort Huachuca, Arizona -- Two motorcycle accidents. One operator didn't follow the safety rules. One followed every rule. But both accidents have profound effects on those around them.
One person died, leaving Family and friends to mourn his loss. The other was badly injured by a careless driver, altering his life forever.
During the Victory Huachuca Motorcycle Rally/Ride May 26 at Cochise Theater, two Soldiers shared their personal experiences while organizations provided motorcycle inspections, safety briefings and discussion regarding Army and installation motorcycle-use regulations. A group ride concluded the event.
The rally and ride was jointly coordinated by the U.S. Army Garrison and the U.S. Army Intelligence Center of Excellence safety offices in order to focus riders on motorcycle safety and mitigate risk during the Army's Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month campaign.
The event's purpose was six-fold. Two goals were to educate the force on new Fort Huachuca policies and to get everyone to follow or enforce the same rules. There have been recent changes to Arizona laws and Army regulations and the fort has maintained more stringent rules on personal protective equipment (PPE). Soldiers and Families are a transient population, and the policy at their prior installation may not be the same as the policy here. The motorcycle rally helped raise awareness and share recent policy updates.
Dad shares story of loss of son
Retiring Command Sgt. Maj. Eric J. Fowler, G3 sergeant major, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, USAICoE, lost his son on April 9. He shared the story, telling those in the audience that he was doing so in order for the riders, "to think about how [they] ride and take away from it what [they] will."
Fowler shared the final ride he imagined his son took on the night he died. It started out as a brief motorcycle ride to a local department store at the end of a Saturday of fun and relaxation. When leaving, Fowler's son took a right-hand turn on a then-deserted parkway in Sierra Vista, heading toward Fort Huachuca. There was no traffic - no one around, and the son kept goosing his bike, increasing his speed, setting a new personal record. Near a small park, he went around a curve at 75 mph, and suddenly -- bam!
He hit the curb. The motorcycle and his son flew 50 meters, right into a tree.
"You hit your skull, the base of your spine and it's 'lights out.' That's it. There's nothing to stop you. It's over. There's nothing you can do about it. You're done. You're dead. That's it. You're 20 feet off the road. Nobody saw you," Fowler said.
Somebody did find Fowler's son the next day. They took his wallet and pistol -- and left him lying there.
A bicyclist found him Monday night. The police found the young man's motorcycle registration, knocked at Fowler's door and told his parents their son was dead.
"For two days he laid there, 20 feet off the road. So that's how Griffin Fowler's life ended. He was 22 years old, never married, no kids. My only son gone. Just gone. Head smashed in a tree. That's it."
Fowler recounted that his son was a daredevil. No rules applied to him. He ignored the rules he didn't like. As a result, Griffin lost his driver's license for two years and moved in with his parents.
"Think about your driving. How do you react to rules? Think about it and about your young Soldiers and how they justify their behavior."
Griffin had diabetes. He was diagnosed when he was 10.
"You got a 10-year-old who was told he was going to die if he did not keep his blood sugar in control. How does that affect a kid's mindset? Rules didn't apply to him. He made sure everyone else he was riding with followed the rules, but they didn't apply to him. He didn't wear his PPE," Fowler said.
But at 22, Griffin's luck ran out.
Fowler told the Soldiers that as long as they were in the military, the rules applied to them. He said if they didn't like it, they could get out or come up with a workable alternative and present it to their leadership.
"If you think the rules don't apply to you, it can -- and will -- catch up with you. No matter what you do, you WILL NOT be able to stop it when it happens. Everybody else who loves you will be left to clean up the pieces. You will not be able to see the pain and suffering that comes … when you're gone. [Everyone else] will relive it every single day.
"I am sharing this with you so you recognize the reality of it. I made it 29 years in the Army and five deployments and brought everyone home safely. But the night before I signed out on retirement leave, I could not keep my own son safe. Just think about that."
He followed all rules, but accident changed his life forever.
Capt. Johndavid E. Roberts, S1, 40th Expeditionary Signal Battalion, was doing everything right when he was out riding on March 9. He was correctly outfitted with PPE, including a full helmet, and his motorcycle met Army standards. The captain had 25 years of riding experience. He was riding on a freeway, doing 60 mph.
Suddenly he was hit by a truck, driven by a woman coming out of a side street without seeing him. She t-boned him, and he went sailing for 25 feet. Roberts laid in incredible pain with all major bones on the right side of his body broken, and serious internal injuries while he waited for the rescue helicopter.
In addition to being protected by his leather jacket, and his helmet which "was trashed," Roberts attributes his survival partly to luck. He narrowly missed sliding into a concrete slab protruding several inches out of the ground.
"The USAICoE Safety Office went out and did our own inspection of the site. [Roberts'] visor was stuck in the ground," said Staff Sgt. Matt Wolf, USAICoE safety noncommissioned officer in charge.
"Roberts left a 'tattoo' on the hood of the truck -- a dent in the shape of his body."
Wolf added that Roberts' brand new Harley was totaled, and there wasn't a salvageable part on it. There were also three distinct impacts on the ground that could only be made by "a human body in motion."
At the hospital and during subsequent hospital stays, doctors performed a series of major surgeries to save his right leg. At one point, he bled out and almost died.
"I'll make it a point to donate blood as I've got everyone else's blood but my own," he quipped.
The LifeFlight cost $53,000. A month's worth of shots cost $4,000. So far, Roberts' hospital expenses are more than $250,000 and does not include future surgeries.
If a Soldier is involved in a motorcycle accident and an "in the line of duty" investigation shows the Soldier and motorcycle were not in compliance with personal protective equipment (PPE) use or the motorcycle does not meet standards, the Army won't pay the medical bills.
"Even if you don't like wearing PPE, wear it," Roberts said. "The [Army] did an 'in the line of duty' investigation on me. They found out I was in the 'line of duty' because I did all my stuff right. I had all my gear, so the Army's picking up [all the costs]. If you're 'out of line of duty,' not wearing a helmet or something, the Army [may] not to pay out."
Wolf ended both presentations with a message.
"Last year, the Army lost 23 [motorcycle] riders. For calendar year 2016, Fort Huachuca is up 400 percent from last year, and we're not even halfway through it. It's not always the [motorcycle] rider's fault. [Roberts] wasn't speeding. He was doing everything right.
"Make it a conscious choice to watch for the guy who's not doing something right -- reading a book, talking on the phone, eating food -- there are so many distractors."
Wolf went on to add that of the 23 Army personnel killed, a good percentage of that number were not at fault.
He reminded people that while they may choose to wear improper PPE to look cool or not wear PPE, "the only person who will take care of you is YOU."
Wolf stated leaders and motorcycle mentors have the right and the responsibility to stop riders on post who are not following regulations and call them out. Over time, if they are corrected often enough, they'll correct their habits so they won't have to listen.
"We are not here [today] to scare people with talk of accidents and deaths. Our purpose is to [arm you with information] so you'll be here to ride again tomorrow."
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