Connecticut girl seeks helmet law after loss of friend
By DAVID HUTTER

TORRINGTON - A teenage girl is lobbying the state to require
motorcyclists to wear helmets after the death of a family friend earlier
this month.
Rachel Kelly, 13, said she wants to prevent other families from having
to suffer the death of a relative or a friend in a motorcycle crash.
Rachel and her brother Brandon, 23, are mourning the death of Brandon’s
friend Brian T. Phillips, 22, of 167 Moore Drive, she said. Phillips was
driving his 2002 Harley Davidson motorcycle south on Route 219 near
Hoppen Road in New Hartford on July 13 around 12:30 a.m. when he lost
control and collided with trees and rocks, police said.

Phillips was not wearing a helmet, according to the police report. His
passenger on the motorcycle, Amanda Boulet, 20, 145 Vernon St.,
Manchester, was wearing a helmet and sustained moderate injuries, police
said. She was taken to Charlotte Hungerford Hospital, where she was
treated and released.

“The pain I saw is something I do not wish on anybody,” Rachel Kelly
said Friday. “If we can save one life, it will be completely worth the
effort. To spare one family the pain would be worth it.”

The Kelly and Phillips families used to live in the same neighborhood
and are intertwined in each other’s lives, Rachel said.

Connecticut law does not require motorcyclists to wear a helmet. Rachel
said she is determined to do whatever she can to change this law.

Within days of Brian’s death, she wrote a letter to Gov. M. Jodi Rell,
describing the pain of mourning his death.
“That day when I went to his house to say my condolences I saw a scene
that broke my heart. His family and friends were scattered in the house,
on the yard, everywhere. Tear drops stained the porch. I don’t think I
saw one person who wasn’t in pain,” Rachel wrote in her letter.

She asks Rell to support a law requiring motorcyclists to wear helmets.

“Please Gov. Rell. Helmets for all people on motorcycles, always and at
all times,” Rachel wrote. “Even if just one person is saved it will be
worth it.”

In a response to Rachel, Rell said she is committed to keeping people
safe on the roads in Connecticut.

“I believe that helmets can help to save lives, and that it is time to
consider a helmet law in Connecticut,” Rell wrote. “There is a lot of
work ahead for all of us, but if we work together, I am confident that
we can achieve many of our goals.”

State Sen. Andrew Roraback, R-30, said he does not have a stance on the
question of whether the state should require motorcyclists to wear
helmets, citing a desire to hear all points of view. The Legislature has
not discussed the issue in recent years, he said. The law-making body
holds public forums anytime it discusses a proposed bill, he said.

“I would not ride a motorcycle without a helmet, nor would I want my
loved ones to ride a motorcycle without a helmet,” Roraback said.

Cyndie Phillips, Brian’s mother, said her son acquired a motorcycle
license at age 16 or 17 and took an additional safety course at
Northwestern Connecticut Community College. Brian wore a helmet when he
was riding by himself; when he had a passenger, he gave the helmet to
his passenger, she said.

Cyndie said she has wished for a long time the state would require
motorcyclists to wear helmets. But she acknowledges that everyone needs
to pay attention to fellow motorists.

“People do not realize that motorcycles cannot stop on a dime,” she
said. “Everyone needs to be responsible.”

Driver’s education schools should spend more time educating young people
about how to be safe drivers, Cyndie said.

Katelyn Phillips, Brian’s 19-year-old sister, said she has fond memories
of riding motorcycles with her mother, father and brother. In the
aftermath of her brother’s death, she is looking to sell her bike, she
said.

Katelyn and Cyndie said they both support Rachel Kelly in her quest to
make helmets required.

“I think it is great; it is wonderful,” Cyndie Phillips said. “I think
it should be mandatory. If Brian had been wearing a helmet, he might be
alive today.”

David Hutter can be reached by e-mail at torrington@registercitizen.com.

www.registercitizen.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19872973&BRD=1652&PAG=461&d
ept_id=665579&rfi=6

July 21st, 2008

For some un-Godly reason, someone at Camelback Volkswagen saw it within their power to declare their corner and dealership, part of the North American Union! The last time I looked, the majority of Phoenix still belongs to America! At least the parts that haven’t been annexed by Mexico.

There for all to see was the American Flag, flanked by the Mexican Flag on one side and the Canadian Flag on the other side, just as the N.A.U. has instructed they be flown. Not in my country! Tell them to take it down and only fly the U.S Flag.

It’s time to make the calls and let them know, they have mistaken Arizonans for fools. We do not condone the merger of Mexico,Canada and The United States and we won’t do business with a company that does! Flying the U.S flag alongside other nations flags is best left to the United Nations and special occassions! Their dealership IS NO special occassion!

Just because the major networks ignore the story doesn’t mean the facts aren’t out there! Do a Google search for North American Union, and see what the powers that be, WON’T TELL YOU!

UPDATE! here is a response one of our members got from the General manager. His direct line is posted and he needs to hear from you!

Mark Exposito just called me.  He is the General Manager for Camelback VW.  His explanation for the flags is below, but first  he asked where my family came from.  I told him that it didn’t matter because the only country that has given me everything I have today is the United States of America, not Germany, England, Ireland or whichever country my ancestors may have come from –

EXPLANATION:

1)   VW is made in these countries, so he is instilling pride by flying those flags for the other countries.

2)   The Chinese flag is flown at the Chinese Cultural Center and other flags are flown at embassies.  (I explained that embassies and consulates are permitted to fly the flag of their country ALONG with the flag of the United States.)

3)   Europe is so much more globally aware because those countries fly flags of all other countries.

4)   I have a large number of Hispanics who became American citizens and they like it.

5)   My Hispanic employees will be very upset when I take it down.  (I offered that they are not Hispanics; that is a Mexican flag, and if those legal immigrants who became Americans have more pride in their Mexican flag than the American flag, they should fly “their” flag in their homes or return to the country of their pride.)

6)   He believes that Americans don’t mind flying these flags because my visit was the only visit all day or the only phone call. (That is a lie! Others members have called and were delegated to an answering machine)

7)   His mother is a U.S. Senator.  The American people have voted in politicians who are just doing what the people want……(I guess he meant we’re okay with illegals !)

Mark never really mentioned his Canadian employees…..he rather focused on the Mexican flag and employees (although he couldn’t bring himself to call them what they are — Mexican — I did remind him that there is no such thing as an Hispanic flag, just a Mexican flag, and that if I were to go to Mexico and become a citizen, which is not allowed in Mexico, I wouldn’t insult my “new” country by flying the flag of my old country.  Do you really think Mexico would allow anyone to fly ANY OTHER FLAG in that country alongside the Mexican flag?)

Mark said he certainly didn’t wish to insult me and that he would take the flags down….tonight; however, it would behoove EVERYONE to support the cause and let Mark Exposito understand that citizens of Phoenix are NOT okay with illegals or with flying the flags which will create the North American Union.

He gave me his direct line so we could do so.  I ask that as many people as possible accommodate this and sound off:

602-200-1200

Camelback Volkswagen
1499 E Camelback Rd
Phoenix, ARIZONA 85014
602-265-6600

 http://immigrationbuzz.com/?p=2354

Man admits leaving motorcycle accident scene
by Jennifer D’Ottavio - Jul. 21, 2008 02:02 PM
The Arizona Republic

Police arrested a Mesa man on suspicion of aggravated assault and leaving
the scene of an injury accident Sunday after he failed to stop at a stop sign
and collided with a motorcyclist, according to a report.

Abel Garcia- Deniz, 40, was driving westbound on Eighth Avenue about 2:30
p.m. when his vehicle collided with a motorcycle traveling northbound on Mesa
Drive, police said. He fled after the collision, police said.

Witnesses followed Daniz until police arrived.

The driver of the motorcycle sustained a broken collar bone and three broken
ribs.

Deniz showed signs of impairment and said he left the scene because he was
afraid of police, the report said.

Published 02/14/2008 - 2:20 p.m. EST
(PressMediaWire) WASHINGTON, D.C. Thursday, February 14, 2008 – U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary E. Peters today sent legislation to Congress seeking greater flexibility for states to target one of the leading causes of motorcycle deaths across the nation – riding without a helmet.

An avid motorcyclist, she credits her helmet and riding gear for saving her life during a 2005 motorcycle crash.

“My helmet prevented me from being a brain injury patient when I crashed my Harley two years ago,” Secretary Peters said. “We know helmets save lives and I want states to be able to join in urging riders to take personal responsibility for their safety by wearing a helmet every time they ride.”

The legislation submitted to Congress would allow states to use federal motorcycle safety funding to promote the use of motorcycle helmets. Currently, states are limited to using the funds for motorcycle safety training and awareness programs only.

Secretary Peters noted that states need additional resources to combat a sharp increase in motorcycle fatalities. In 2006, motorcycle fatalities reached 4,810, an increase of 127 percent since 1997, Secretary said. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates that motorcycle helmets not only saved the lives of 1,658 motorcyclists in 2006, but that 752 additional lives could have been saved if all motorcyclists had worn helmets, she added.

Calling motorcycles “our nation’s greatest highway safety challenge,” Secretary Peters launched a comprehensive federal initiative to improve motorcycle safety in October 2007. The action plan emphasizes more rider education and training, tougher standards for helmet certification labeling, law enforcement training, and road designs that consider motorcycle dynamics.

For more information on DOT’s motorcycle safety initiative, please visit http://www.nhtsa.gov/motorcycles/index.cfm

Contact: Brian Turmail
Tel.: (202) 366-4570

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