Originally Posted by Ricky Bobby

Very sad Alex, I'm sorry about your friend. To lose a life over something that is preventable in my opinion, he may have been banged up bad but in my opinion if he geared up he may have lived through that crash (probably not if he hit a telephone pole though). The trauma to your skin alone can kill you, going down in a T-shirt against pavement (I also notice his tennis sneakers) basically is like running a belt sander over your entire body. Sure the helmet protects the brain, but what about everything else?

Did he hit the tree/pole or anything, or did he just die of impact injuries? The article said his motorcycle hit a utility pole, not sure if he was still on the motorcycle when it hit the pole or if he had a chance to bail beforehand.