Freak of Bad Luck.... anyone know him?? very tragic..
A motorcyclist has died following a collision with a kangaroo on NSW's South Coast.
Police said the 39-year-old man was riding his Harley-Davidson south along the Princes Highway in South Nowra about 4.15pm yesterday when a kangaroo jumped onto the road.
The animal hit the rider, causing him to fall off the bike and slide into the path of an oncoming Toyota LandCruiser, police said.
The man, from Bondi Junction, suffered extensive injuries and was pronounced dead on arrival at Shoalhaven Hospital.
The kangaroo was not found, but witnesses saw it cause the accident, police said.
The area where the accident occurred, about 400 metres north of the Btu Road intersection, was surrounded by bushland that was known to contain kangaroos, Inspector Wayne Thorpe from Nowra police said.
"But most of the kangaroo accidents are fortunately with cars, and not too often with motorcyclists," he said.
"If you hit a kangaroo at 100km/h [while riding a motorcycle], you are not going to come off too well."
There was nothing to suggest excessive speed or alcohol were factors, Inspector Thorpe said.
Fred Madderom, director of Sydney chapter of the Harley Owners Group, did not know the rider but described the incident as a tragedy.
While the area where the rider was killed was not necessarily a major bike route, kangaroos commonly posed a threat to bike riders, he said.
"They're so unpredictable, they go in one direction and you think you've missed them and suddenly at the last second they go in another direction," he said.
"All you can do is improve your skills, do the best you can and then a kangaroo jumps out at you."
Mr Madderom said a member of his chapter hit a kangaroo during a rally in Tasmania this week, but was not seriously
Bugger. I felt sort of proud though (this is kinda weird) when the headline in the Herald said "Harley rider killed by roo". They wouldn't have said "Suzuki rider..." Rotten luck mate. Thinking of your family.
we all know you can be lucky or unlucky when it comes to this sort of wildlife , last year a friend on a harley was riding up northern NSW when a fair size wallaby came out of the bush & ran straight into his his left leg & broke his shin bone clean in too & bented the horn cover & bracket , he couldn't stop straight away because he couldn't put the side stand down until his mate help him , he was lucky but unlucky , he has to go to get the long pin from ankle to knee + screws out this week as they are giving him a sore leg from standing up at work all-day as he is a m/cycle mechanic , last 2 weeks ago going to motogp on the coast road inland on a triumph 955 another good friend hit a wallaby coming out of the scrub on a fast corner killed it & it's joey ,the fur was stuck in the front wheel & fairing he nearly came off the bike , it goes to show our wild life don't care what bike your on , thats so sad what happen to the other rider the other day i feel sorry for him it must of happened so quickly, these big harleys don't like to move to quickly from rider input esp in the middle of a corner, we have a very big country with more bush than most ,
