Lincoln man dies in motorcycle accident
A 40-year-old man died early Saturday morning after crashing his motorcycle in northeast Lincoln.
Scott Grossman of Lincoln was thrown from his motorcycle at 70th Street and McCormick Drive, said Lincoln Police Capt. Dennis Duckworth. The accident occurred at 1:38 a.m. Saturday.
Jon Virus, a friend who was riding a separate motorcycle alongside Grossman, said Saturday that the men were not racing and the accident likely was caused by a mechanical malfunction.
Grossman, who was wearing a helmet, died at the scene of the accident. He was driving a 2005 Kawasaki that belonged to him. No other people were injured in the crash.
Emergency personnel were alerted to the accident when a witness called 911.
“A witness reported seeing both motorcycles driving east down McCormick at speeds excess in of 80 mph,” Lincoln Police Capt. Anthony Butler said.
“The witness never said they were racing, just in proximity, both traveling at high speeds.”
Witness reports of vehicle speeds are often approximations, Butler said.
Toxicology tests are pending to show whether alcohol was a factor in the accident, Duckworth said.
On Saturday, police ticketed Virus with reckless driving.
Virus and police said officers gave him two Breathalyzer tests after the crash.
“They said it was fine,” said Virus, 40, of Lincoln. “They didn’t say the results.”
Police told him they had reason to believe the time and location of the accident suggested reckless driving, Virus said.
“I think they made an assumption based on that.”
He also said he was upset that officers didn’t tell him about his friend’s death until several hours after the accident.
In the meantime, Virus said, he gave officers repeated accounts of the night’s events.
“As we traveled down the street, we reached a stop sign,” Virus said he told police. “I was on the right; Scott was on the left.
“As I slowed to a stop sign, he came by me a little faster with a little wobble in his bike.”
Then, he said, he saw Grossman hit the brakes, locking the wheels of the bike before sliding out of control.
“I closed my eyes and turned away,” Virus said.
He spent much of Saturday replaying the accident in his mind, trying to figure out what went wrong.
“Scott was a very able rider, both on streets and dirt. None of this makes sense to me, minus a possible mechanical failure,” Virus said.
The two had been friends for about 20 years.
“I’m going to miss him tremendously,” he said.
Grossman leaves behind his wife, Michelle Grossman, and four children: Tara Dudycha, 17, Tiler Grossman, 15, Nick Dudycha, 15, and Chase Grossman, 12.
Grossman worked as a mechanic for the post office.
“He was a great dad and loved his family,” Michelle Grossman said. “He died doing what he loved. I can guarantee if he were here now he’d say, ‘That’s how I’d want to go.’”
A memorial service will be held Wednesday at Lincoln Memorial Funeral Home.
A specialist is in the process of reconstructing the accident to give police more information about its circumstances, authorities said. They hope to have a report Monday.
Reach Lisa Munger at lmunger@journalstar.com or 473-7107.
Scott Grossman of Lincoln was thrown from his motorcycle at 70th Street and McCormick Drive, said Lincoln Police Capt. Dennis Duckworth. The accident occurred at 1:38 a.m. Saturday.
Jon Virus, a friend who was riding a separate motorcycle alongside Grossman, said Saturday that the men were not racing and the accident likely was caused by a mechanical malfunction.
Grossman, who was wearing a helmet, died at the scene of the accident. He was driving a 2005 Kawasaki that belonged to him. No other people were injured in the crash.
Emergency personnel were alerted to the accident when a witness called 911.
“A witness reported seeing both motorcycles driving east down McCormick at speeds excess in of 80 mph,” Lincoln Police Capt. Anthony Butler said.
“The witness never said they were racing, just in proximity, both traveling at high speeds.”
Witness reports of vehicle speeds are often approximations, Butler said.
Toxicology tests are pending to show whether alcohol was a factor in the accident, Duckworth said.
On Saturday, police ticketed Virus with reckless driving.
Virus and police said officers gave him two Breathalyzer tests after the crash.
“They said it was fine,” said Virus, 40, of Lincoln. “They didn’t say the results.”
Police told him they had reason to believe the time and location of the accident suggested reckless driving, Virus said.
“I think they made an assumption based on that.”
He also said he was upset that officers didn’t tell him about his friend’s death until several hours after the accident.
In the meantime, Virus said, he gave officers repeated accounts of the night’s events.
“As we traveled down the street, we reached a stop sign,” Virus said he told police. “I was on the right; Scott was on the left.
“As I slowed to a stop sign, he came by me a little faster with a little wobble in his bike.”
Then, he said, he saw Grossman hit the brakes, locking the wheels of the bike before sliding out of control.
“I closed my eyes and turned away,” Virus said.
He spent much of Saturday replaying the accident in his mind, trying to figure out what went wrong.
“Scott was a very able rider, both on streets and dirt. None of this makes sense to me, minus a possible mechanical failure,” Virus said.
The two had been friends for about 20 years.
“I’m going to miss him tremendously,” he said.
Grossman leaves behind his wife, Michelle Grossman, and four children: Tara Dudycha, 17, Tiler Grossman, 15, Nick Dudycha, 15, and Chase Grossman, 12.
Grossman worked as a mechanic for the post office.
“He was a great dad and loved his family,” Michelle Grossman said. “He died doing what he loved. I can guarantee if he were here now he’d say, ‘That’s how I’d want to go.’”
A memorial service will be held Wednesday at Lincoln Memorial Funeral Home.
A specialist is in the process of reconstructing the accident to give police more information about its circumstances, authorities said. They hope to have a report Monday.
Reach Lisa Munger at lmunger@journalstar.com or 473-7107.
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