Lost a long time Friend...

[guzzimike]

You guys might have heard that yesterday, in la canada/flintridge, a truck coming down ACH lost his brakes and caused an accident that killed two people, afather and his daughter..

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me ... ?track=rss


I saw the news last nite, and felt bad for the families of those injured, but I just got the call, and still can't wrap my mind around it..

A father and his 12 year old daughter perished in the accident...The father, George Posca Jr was a long time friend of mine. The Posca family men are avid motorcyclists (mom, pop, two brothers, 3 sisters). They come from Argentina, as my family does, and we've know each other for 3 decades...

The father and his youngest son, Alex, rode two BMW R60s from LA to Buenos Aires, Argentina twice in the early 1970s..At the time, Alex was about 16 - 17 yeras old..George Sr, 85, still rides. So does Alex.

When long road trips took a toll on George Sr as the years wore on, he built himself a VW powered Trike to go to Sturgis. He scratch built it himself. For their motorcycles, they perferred BMWs , but also owned Yamahas, HDs, and George sr even raced Gileras back in the day (1940s) in Argentina..

George Jr was more into dirt bikes and he was quite an accomplished Motocrosser, ranking nationally. They have a wall in their main living room covered floor to ceiling with George jr's trophies to this day. Back when Goerge jr was barly a teen, George sr built him a MX track by their house in Palmdale so that he could practice all the time...and unlike his pop or his younger brother, George Jr preferred riding in the dirt...

They live about 5 miles due south of the Willow Springs race Track.


George sr suffered a heart attack and stroke about 9 months ago...he was at some Civic event, giving a speech and passed out. A doctor in the audience kept him alive until the EMTs got there. It took him a long time to recover but he's a tough old bird and did it. This coming Saturday, April 4th, the Poscas were going to have a huge Argentine BBQ to celebrate George's recovery and also to honor the Doctor who saved his life. My entire family was invited to go and so we were..and now, 3 days Before the celebration, George jr and his daughter are taken from us...

Irony can be a cruel thing...

So friends, please hug you loved ones, and if you can spare it, send a happy thought for George Posca jr and his daughter..

 

[Cronkite]

Sad indeed. Thanks for sharing the story behind the names.

 

[Lupo]

What's fuc%ed up is they (CHP) want go to after riders with a vengeance up there yet all they can hurt is themselves. Taking a big rig on a road like that to save time is nuts. The driver is a murderer and that's it. I'm so sorry for the Posca family and you Mike. The Times photo captures how truly disturbing this is. I'm so sorry.

 

[guzzibob]

Condolences Mike, & thanks for sharing, sounds like great people, & a big loss.


However, Larry, seems premature to me to lay the whole thing on the truck driver when possibly all he did is make a poor choice of roads in an area he may have been unfamiliar with, possibly missed the no truck sign for part of his route-or it was maybe at a spot where he couldn't turn around-& had his brakes fail on him. No indication as yet that he was speeding or drunk or anything else-& whose fault is it that the runaway truck area was removed some years ago? Caltrans, not the driver-& they did it just to have a more cosmetically pleasing median strip, & still claim the route is safe for big trucks. Morons. That would have prevented anyone from being hurt. Also sounds like the locals are all out to get the runaway zone replaced and/or big trucks banned along the entire road, which would be real helpful.

 

[Cat City Rider]

So sorry to hear of your loss. It hurts to loose a loved one, and add another scar to your collection. Sounds like this one will take awhile to heal.

 

[guzzibob]

Caltrans has folded to the public pressure. News report says Caltrans banning trucks on Angeles Crest for next 90 days, up to legislature beyond that.

 

[Lupo]

:huh: "folded to public pressure". Don't they work for the public? Also to address your comment; I've carried a CDL for over 30 years and have always understood that when you hustle 10+ tons around you have a lot of responsibilities that go beyond "oops my brakes failed". Your responsible for the maintenance of the vehicle and knowing your route in advance. Stupid doesn't count if someone dies because of your bad judgment.

 

[tgarlick]

Mike, sorry to hear the father and daughter were friends of yours. I read the story yesterday and was sadden that innocent bystanders got hurt. It brings it home on a more personal level when you know them or know someone who knows them.

-Tim.

 

[guzzibob]

Lupo wrote:

:huh: "folded to public pressure". Don't they work for the public? Also to address your comment; I've carried a CDL for over 30 years and have always understood that when you hustle 10+ tons around you have a lot of responsibilities that go beyond "oops my brakes failed". Your responsible for the maintenance of the vehicle and knowing your route in advance. Stupid doesn't count if someone dies because of your bad judgment.

Sure. For me, that might well make it something like criminal negligence. But "murder" as you put it? I don't think so, unless he was loaded, or knew his brakes were iffy, or knew the road was ridiculous for his vehicle. However, I see lots of pretty darn big trucks hauling over the Crest without hitting anything, & Caltrans insisted it wasn't inherently unsafe for big trucks (before folding to the public outcry, like I said) so clearly there's more to it than the size of the truck. Since a lot of these things don't seem to be in the public record as yet-or at least in the article linked here- perhaps it would be wise to wait until they are before tossing accusations of "murder" around. Unless of course you prefer not to be confused by the facts.

 

[oca]

I think both GB and Lupo have solid points, however we are getting a bit tangential. We should be expressing our sympathies to GM not discussing the merits of responsibility.

It would make an interesting thread.

Just my $0.02

 

[ken farr]

I am so sorry to hear that knew the victims. My prayers to the family.

One,....one 1,000' locked wheel skid says it all. One wheel is locked, presumably on full application of the pneumatic brake system, while the others are still in rotation. I have reason to believe that it will turn out to be a combination of poor maintenance, poor judgemetnt and a significant lack of knowledge in the proper operation of the vehicle and it's systems in the operating environment he put himself in.

Again, prayers for the family.

ken farr
02 stone-redux

 

[guzzimike]

Thank you for your words, Gents...

The Poscas are a very tightly knit clan..They all work together and live within minutes of each other..They all own Dental Labs. Each son and daughter had a Dental Lab specialty..they have 3 generations working together..Very Old School..

This kind of tragic event affects any family by its horrible nature, but I think that it really impacts deeply families that are so close knit as they are...

I feel so sad for them..The level of their despair is impossible to describe. The mother has not spoken a word since it happened. She just walks around in shock, like a zombie.

It just breaks your heart..


Thank you for your kind words and thoughts. They are truly appreciated.


Mike

 

[wsholar]

So sorry to hear about your and your friends' loss, Mike. It was a terrible thing that happened. I don't really know what else to say.

w