Recent crashes add to motorcyclist death toll in Chattanooga

Dr. James Newby sent his 22-year-old son a text message asking if he was awake. Alec Newby replied that he was.They waited some more."His mom and I figured that he fell back asleep," Newby said.Eventually, the pair left the Waffle House and began to drive to their son's house. They stopped on Shallowford Road -- the way he would have traveled -- when they were met with orange cones and flashing police lights.James Newby saw the motorcycle. The tarp."It was crippling," Newby said Monday, reflecting on the crash site. "Alec was a good kid with a big heart."Alec Newby was killed when he lost control of his Suzuki GSX 650-R and struck a tree near Shallowford Road and Standifer Gap Road at about 10 a.m. Saturday. A witness told police that the accident occurred when Newby looked back for some reason.One other rider also died in a motorcycle crash over the weekend.Larry Clyde Lowe Jr., 46, drifted to the side of Access Road where he was killed when his Harley-Davidson Street Glide struck a guardrail in the 4600 block just after midnight Monday, Chattanooga police said.Those two deaths brought the number of motorcycle fatalities on Chattanooga's roads to five so far this year, compared to four in all of 2012.In a third crash, Rachel Hensen, 22, suffered critical injuries Monday after she was ejected from a Harley-Davidson Street Glide when the operator of the motorcycle struck a vehicle in another lane on Interstate 24. That accident occurred around 3 a.m. Monday.
Hensen's helmet, which was not secured, was knocked off and she was thrown into another lane of traffic, where a motorist ran over her leg, police said.A friend of Newby's was shocked to learn of his death.