From what I understand, Dylan was driving his mom on the motorcycle. They turned the corner and a big gust of wind came up and he reached back to grab her and I assume that is when he lost control. She suffered a broken wrist and bruises and it is my understanding that he was revived once in the ambulance and passed away at the hospital. A friend posted on her facebook page that she had visited the mother and that the media had misquoted her as saying Dylan was driving too fast for the curve. I attended the wake and was blown away by the number of people there. I arrived one hour early and the line was out the door 15 minutes later. I understand there was a traffic jam on 50 because of all the cars trying to park. I read that there were over 100 cars in the funeral procession. Dylan was only 23 but he touched MANY lives in his short time here. He had an infectious personality and made everyone smile. His family is strong in their faith and I'm sure that is helping them deal with this tragedy. Dylan's mother also lost her brother in a car wreck several years ago. Please continue to pray for this family.
A friend of mine who is a pastor at a local church just happened to be driving by just before it happened and he went over and prayed with them right as the EMTs were arriving. It was not a good looking scene he said. They said he actually hit a drainage pipe. This was a photo he took that night. It must have been a hard hit.
Sorry for the tragic accident, and those affected. Unfortunately this wasnt the first accident there. If I remember correctly most of that damage was from when a car hit it and launched up into the subdivision. I think it was only a few months after they re-aligned it. Looking at the scene it doesn't appear he was travelling at a terribly high rate of speed. It is 55 through there and several bikes a day run well into 3 digit speeds where it straightens out.
Is there even a speed limit sign somewhere between Cleveland Rd and Polenta anywhere on McLemore? It seems like the JoCo area severely lacks those. NC-42 doesn't have any speed limits signs from Walmart near 40/42 all the way to the Hospital. Most people think the speed limit is like 35 or 45 and drive really slow, when in fact the speed limit is 55 between those two signs at either end that state 55 MPH.
Well NC-44 is a state highway, so 55 is not that unheard of. It just so happens that there are houses on that state highway. But over time it will go more and more commercial. I would bet that by 2030, the stretch from NC-50 to US-70 will be 4 lanes the entire way and the majority of it will be commercial. It's inevitable. Most of these roads did start out with very little development on them in the first place, so 55 mph is what they made them. I did check street view on Google Maps, and I was unable to locate a speed limit sign from Cleveland Road to Sanders Road going South, other than the curve signs (which is a suggested speed limit - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advisory_speed_limit): This was the first sign, stating that the speed limit is 45 mph ahead, after Sanders Road. Turning around just south of Sanders Road and heading North there is this sign before you get to Sanders Road. Then these signs are seen heading back toward Cleveland Rd: It's about a 3 mile stretch with no speed limit signs. But the speed limit is 55 MPH from Sanders to Cleveland. However there are lower suggested speeds for the curves as shown.
Here is a link to a story posted in the Garner Cleveland paper yesterday: http://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/community/garner-cleveland-record/article27904237.html
