Long Island motorcyclist killed after hitting pothole in Riverhead

RIVERHEAD (WABC) -- Police on eastern Long Island say a motorcyclist has died after apparently hitting a pothole.

Members of the Road Reapers motorcycle club went back to the accident scene Tuesday night to see for themselves. Instead of a road, what they found was a moonscape.

Their friend, Dave DeCarle, never had a chance. He was found in the middle of Reeves Avenue by a passing motorist after he tumbled off his motorcycle.

"Perhaps he hit that pothole before the bend in the road and then tried to recover and then hit some more potholes where it just made it worse," said Lorenzo Cricchio, of Road Reapers MC.

The brutal winter has made driving risky for riders across the metropolitan area. Some say it's never been more dangerous to be riding a motorcycle on area roads than it is right now.

"It's really only been a week that anybody's been able to ride and of course everybody's got cabin fever and they want to get out on the road and yeah, there's been a lot of bent rims and a lot of incidents and not only potholes but when you are trying to avoid potholes it kind of sends you into traffic at times, so a lot of dealing with that too," said George Stinsman, of Chaos Cycle.

Dave DeCarle was 37 years old. He was married and the father of a 20-month-old child. At the Road Reapers clubhouse, members made plans to raise money to help the family, and remembered a good friend.

"This is one of the worst winters ever and if anything you know we want to get out there to let everybody know just to be safe," said L.J. James, of Road Reapers MC.

"We're all at a loss for words. We just want to do the best that we can for his family," said Henry Burnor, of Road Reapers MC.

Bikers say they don't blame the municipalities for this, they blame Mother Nature. There are more potholes in more places than they've ever seen, from the streets and secondary roads to the interstates.