Windham man killed in truck vs dirt bike collision
Willimantic police officers Joseph Yarchak and John Trotter work on reconstructing the accident at the scene of a fatal crash between a man riding a dirt bike and a pickup truck on Ash Street on Thursday. Al Malpa photo
City police are investigating a fatal “dirt bike” versus pickup truck accident that took place on Ash Street Thursday [Aug. 27].
According to police, the incident took place at 11:59 a.m., in the area of the Republic Oil Co. Inc., building at 117 Ash St., at the intersection of Ash Street and the walking trail.
The trail, also known as Heritage Trail, runs across Ash Street.
Police did not identify the driver as of this morning and the state’s Medical Examiner’s Office also could not release any information on the victim, both stating the family had not been fully notified.
Neighbors and friends at the scene this morning, however, identified the victim of the accident as being David Ernesto Pedraza, 21, of Willimantic.
A small shrine at the scene includes the name “Ernesto” written on a cross. Reportedly, a large gathering of mourners was at the accident site Thursday night to mourn the victim.
Police said the initial investigation began an hour before the accident, when they had spotted the operator on a 1990 Honda motorcycle/dirt bike in the Ash Street area.
Police said they noticed the operator was traveling on the walking path at a high rate of speed and in a hazardous manner before exiting onto Ash Street.
Police then stationed one officer at Builders Concrete East and another at the Ash Street/trail intersection on foot, police said.
According to police, the bike operator was heading east toward Builders Concrete East on the paved trail, but stopped and turned around to head west when he spotted the police at Builders Concrete.
Police said the officer at the Ash Street/trail intersection was on foot and attempted to stop the rider so the officer could identify him.
However, the bike operator sped up and the officer got out of the way when it became clear he would not be able to stop him, according to police.
Police said the operator exited the trail onto Ash Street and struck the side of a Chevrolet pickup truck that was traveling south on Ash Street.
The bike operator was ejected from the vehicle after colliding with the truck. A different truck was traveling southbound on Ash Street and struck the bike, but was not involved in the initial crash.
The second truck did not make contact with the bike operator, according to police.
Police said the identity of the pickup truck operator was not available, but the driver of the truck and the bike operator were both taken to Windham Community Memorial Hospital.
The driver of the pickup truck did not appear to have life-threatening injuries, police said.
Police said from their initial investigation, it appeared there was nothing the Chevrolet pickup truck driver could have done to avoid the accident.
Police also said they believed the operator’s bike is unregistered.
Willimantic police are asking anyone with information to contact the police department at (860) 465-3135 and refer to incident 10-12508. Both Sgt. Joseph Yarchak and Officer John Trotter are investigating the incident.
Posted Aug. 27, 2010
Reported by David Hinchey and Mike Savino
Editor’s note: There are prominent signs posted on the Greenway that runs from Milk Street (at the end of Valley Street) out towards Wal-mart that state “no motorized vehicles” are allowed on this pathway, which is heavily used by pedestrians – including mothers pushing baby carriages. Daily (and after dark) there are motorbikes or dirt bikes on this pathway whose operators do not yield to pedestrians and who drive recklessly into Milk Street, and on the other end of the Greenway, onto Route 6. I live by the Greenway. It is my hope that a similar tragedy does not occur in this area. The Greenway does not allow easy access for police, and the dirt bike operators have cut a hole in the Greenway fence so they can evade police. In so doing, they endanger their own lives as well as the lives of others. – Brenda Sullivan, HTNP.com Editor
22 Responses to “Windham man killed in truck vs dirt bike collision”
Ernesto was a good friend of mine and I’m sad to lose him, but I feel the police are to blame for his accident!!! Regardless of him fleeing, there are restrictions that the police can do when they are in this situation, and I feel they overstepped the boundary.
Comment made on September 2nd, 2010 at 7:59 amI’m sorry for the person who was driving the pickup truck.
Windham needs to do something about the illegal use of dirtbikes throughout the Town but particularly on the city streets. I used to have them in the neighborhood I lived in and was ever so grateful to move out when it got unbearable and I was also threatened by the bikers. Windows were smashed, tires were slashed. The police could do nothing.
Enough is enough. What will it take for some intervention to be taken? Will the deceased family sue the Town because the officer tried to stop him and he then sped up only to go into oncoming traffic? Let’s hope not. He should never have been on the bike on the street or on the walkway.
I hope the Town takes note that the fence needs to be repaired to the Greenway walkway….let’s support our police in trying to enforce the law and rid the city of these bikes.
Comment made on September 2nd, 2010 at 3:40 pmI feel sorry for my mom cuz she is david’s cousin!!
I was shocked that he died in a motorcycle accident, that he was riding the motorcycle and he hit a truck and another truck hit him! He passed away and he will be sadly missed. Goodbye to david for his family and friends
in loving memory of
Comment made on September 7th, 2010 at 10:01 amernesto david pedraza
november 21, 1988 – august 26, 2010
This kid stole my dirtbike, he also stole my friends dirtbikes out of his garage. Karma…
Comment made on October 5th, 2010 at 10:04 amWhoever wrote that message about karma… bcuz he stole somethin u think it’s good he died? don’t ever wish some1 death. my brother wasn’t a saint but he wasn’t a bad person. n that was his dirtbike.
[Editor's note: swearing and threats are not allowed in comments posted on this Web site, and were deleted from this comment.]
Comment made on October 15th, 2010 at 4:57 amI cant believe this, OMG..
Comment made on January 21st, 2011 at 6:49 pmpablo its ur a coward cause my cuz was not a saint but u think he deserve to die cause of that ur out ur mind. for ur info that was his dirtbike and if u was man enough u would write ur real name, hope u dont have karma hit u were it wont hurt. david i love u and miss u R.I.P
Comment made on January 22nd, 2011 at 1:51 amThis is so hard to find out an old friend of mine is gone. For the ppl on here writing bad about him u deff don’t have a heart and I believe karma should take care of u! R.I.P David
Comment made on January 26th, 2011 at 12:37 amUnregistered dirt bike driven by a man of hispanic origin, wearing low top Nikes, speeding down a pedestrian path… typical. That really stinks he died and I’m sorry for that. The true question would be, at what point should police back down and let the offender leave without inducing “reckless getaway” driving? If a police pursuit begins to endanger other people, they should back off. AND HOW ABOUT GIVING THE PUBLIC MORE PLACES TO RIDE???!! Whatever happened to this being a free country? You can’t even ride in State forests. You know who karma’s coming after???… the police and big restrictive government and I cant wait!
Comment made on February 13th, 2011 at 11:22 pmI believe many laws pertaining to dirt bikes, registered or otherwise, are the result of reckless and irresponsible use of the bikes. I see people riding their bikes on public roads illegally all the time, particularly during the warmer months. I also see them trespassing on private property regularly.It sounds like this particular individual was operating his vehicle in an unsafe way (i.e., on a walking path and at a high rate of speed). His death is unfortunate, but it is the result of him breaking the law and not wanting to get caught and be held responsible for his actions.
Comment made on February 18th, 2011 at 8:43 amWow this world had been trashed with ppl that don’t have feelings death is not a way to pay for a small thing like what happen. David was a close friend of mine back in the day he was caring and loved life. I think yu stupid ppl who don’t have a life should stop posting these things about him mind yur bissness Ty!
Comment made on February 19th, 2011 at 8:51 amWILL WHITING YOU DONT EVEN KNOW WHAT YOU TALKIN ABOUT. R.I.P DAVID I LOVE U!!
Comment made on February 26th, 2011 at 4:11 pmBrenda, it appears you are Davids’ sister and I am sorry for your loss. All I was trying to say was that many people around here ride dirt bikes in places they shouldn’t, which endangers the lives of the riders and those around them. His death is truly unfortunate and I hope his example leads to others being more safe on their motorized bikes.
Comment made on March 1st, 2011 at 3:03 pmBrenda, I don’t know if you remember us, but we just found out about this. Please communicate with me asap.
Comment made on March 15th, 2011 at 9:44 pmthey harass my brother eveytime.. came 2 my house everyday time they did this on purpose
Comment made on March 18th, 2011 at 3:11 ami remember u@odalys
Comment made on March 18th, 2011 at 3:24 amOkay my email is lamamidepr87@hotmail.com write to me please@ brenda
Comment made on March 19th, 2011 at 5:45 pmEver think Ernesto should have stopped for the police and then he would be alive? He is the one to blame, and all of you enablers excusing him and blaming the police and the government are wrong. Try taking credit for something, and face the consequences of your actions, instead of saying it is everyone else’s fault, someone else is to blame, we never do anything wrong. Feel bad for the truck driver just minding his business when some criminal runs into him and dies.
Comment made on September 19th, 2011 at 7:56 amNesto loved riding dirt bikes and that was his hobby. No matter what, he did not deserve to die. The police should have left it alone and looked for him afterwards. For those of you sayin all that crazy stuff, you obviously didn’t know him, so what yu doin even writtin on here? He was a good friend and a good person and I will always remember him, he will be missed forever.
Comment made on November 8th, 2011 at 10:49 pmNobody is saying he deserved to die, but accept the fact that he was breaking the law and endangering the lives of others. If he would have stopped when the police made the attempt to ID him, then there most likely would have been a more positive outcome. And if you ask the police to just “leave it alone,” then where do they draw the line with other law-breakers? You can justify his behaviors all you like by saying it was his hobby, he was a good person, etc., but he broke the law and he brought it on himself. Tragedy? Absolutely. But preventable? Absolutely.
Comment made on November 9th, 2011 at 7:37 pmPeople let the boy Rest iN Peace ! If yu didn’t kno him stop being noisy mind yur bisness and for talk commenting on the law the only reason why cops make a big deal is cuz he was Hispanic #True Fact .
Comment made on November 12th, 2011 at 5:10 pmodalys- People have a right to comment because this story is in the public domain. I think the real reason law enforcement became involved was due to the fact that Mr. Pedraza was in fact potently breaking the law. I don’t believe race had anything to do with their attempt to stop Pedraza. His death is sad, senseless, and I hope others learn from this incident so this doesn’t happen again.
Comment made on November 12th, 2011 at 9:54 pmLeave a Comment