Alex Collins

[c_hawkbob]

Passed away today, no cause given yet. RIP young man.

[RiverDog]

Passed away today, no cause given yet. RIP young man.

He was killed in a motorcycle accident:

Former Arkansas and NFL running back Alex Collins has died as a result of a motorcycle accident. He was 28.

Collins’ death was announced Monday by Collins’ family through the Seattle Seahawks, for whom he played three of his five NFL seasons. Miami’s WPLG-TV is reporting that the accident occurred late Sunday in Lauderdale Lakes, Fla., which is near Collins’ hometown of Fort Lauderdale.

“It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of our beloved Alex Collins this morning,” the statement read. “Alex was cherished by his family and friends as well as supporters from all around the world. All who truly know him can attest to his drive, determination, and larger-than-life personality. We kindly request your thoughts and prayers for our family during this difficult time. We ask for privacy as we navigate through our grief. We will provide updates regarding funeral arrangements as they become available.”

https://www.al.com/sports/2023/08/forme ... ident.html

I just got through with a 2300-mile road trip, and I saw two near misses with motorcycles where it was obvious that the cycle was too low for the other driver to see in their side view mirror. I don't know the circumstances of Collins accident, but if I were a biker, I'd stay off of freeways.

RIP Alex Collins.

[NorthHawk]

28 is way too young and I sometimes wonder how I got to last until my mid 60’s.
RIP Alex.

[RiverDog]

Here's a few more details from the accident report:

The crash occurred at approximately 10:20 p.m., on Sunday, Aug. 13, near the 3300 block of West Oakland Park Boulevard. The preliminary investigation revealed Alexander Collins was traveling eastbound on a 2004 Suzuki GSX-R600K motorcycle on West Oakland Park Boulevard approaching Northwest 33rd Avenue. At the same time, an adult female was traveling westbound in a 2002 Chevrolet Suburban SUV on West Oakland Park Boulevard.

According to investigators, at some point, the Chevrolet driver proceeded to turn left to travel south onto Northwest 33rd Avenue. As the car crossed the eastbound lanes, the motorcycle struck the rear passenger side of the SUV. The impact caused the motorcyclist to enter the rear passenger side window of the Chevrolet and come to a final rest inside the car. The collision also caused the Chevrolet to rotate clockwise before finally resting.

BSO deputies responded, and the motorcycle driver was pronounced deceased on scene. The driver of the SUV remained on scene and cooperated with the investigation.

https://www.sheriff.org/PIO/BSONews/Pag ... LITY-.aspx

It sounds like Collins had the right of way as there was no indication that it was a controlled intersection, but there's a lot of details missing, such as the posted speed limit, how fast Collins was traveling, if either driver was impaired, etc.

A 2004 Suzuki GSX-R600K is what's commonly known as a crotch rocket, a racing motorcycle.

[c_hawkbob]

I guess you could call it "racing" bike as motorcycle racing is done at different engine sizes but a 600cc bike is the equivalent of a small block Chevy, it's no Hellcat. There are street legal bikes out there very much (like by over 100 mph) faster.

[RiverDog]

I guess you could call it "racing" bike as motorcycle racing is done at different engine sizes but a 600cc bike is the equivalent of a small block Chevy, it's no Hellcat. There are street legal bikes out there very much (like by over 100 mph) faster.

Thanks for your insight. I've never owned a motorcycle so I'm pretty naive about them. I was going mostly off the style of bike, where the driver is crouched forward in a racing position. I was trying to differentiate it from something like a Harley hog where the rider is in a recumbent posture.

Those crotch rockets scare the s**t out of me. They'll blast past me without my even knowing that they were approaching. Given the description of the accident where the crash was so violent that Collins ended up in the back seat of the SUV and died at the scene, he had to have been going at a pretty high rate of speed. It didn't sound like he was on a route with a 60+ mph speed limit, and at 10:20pm with a rider who's crouched over presenting a low profile, it's likely that visibility would have been an issue.

I don't want to jump to conclusions, but I can't help thinking that Collins was at least partially at fault.

[NorthHawk]

The collision also caused the Chevrolet to rotate clockwise before finally resting.

He had to have been traveling at a high rate of speed to spin the Suburban after colliding with the rear passenger door. It has a 4800 lb curb weight.

Here's the specs of the Suburban:
https://www.cars.com/research/chevrolet ... 002/specs/

[RiverDog]

The collision also caused the Chevrolet to rotate clockwise before finally resting.

He had to have been traveling at a high rate of speed to spin the Suburban after colliding with the rear passenger door. It has a 4800 lb curb weight.

Here's the specs of the Suburban:
https://www.cars.com/research/chevrolet ... 002/specs/

The bike he was riding weighs 355 lbs. Add Collins approx. 225 lb. weight and it puts the combo at less than 600 lbs. How much force is required to spin a 5,000 lb. or 2.5-ton vehicle? And if the accident occurred at a grade intersection of an avenue and a boulevard, it doesn't sound like it was much more than a 45-mph speed zone. Traveling that fast at night on a road with grade intersections and on a low-profile, single headlight bike? Doesn't sound too smart.

The more details I read about the accident, the less sympathy I have for him.

[MackStrongIsMyHero]

This occurred in Ft Lauderdale proper. LAT and LONG if you want to use it.

26.16522865977201, -80.19107751065056

It was a controlled intersection with a dedicated left turn land with a signal that has a left turn arrow. That doesn't mean Collins was completely at fault. I could easily see Collins having straight green which means the opposite direction likely had the same. The Chevy thought they were in the clear for the left turn yield on green and didn't see Collins. My guess is he was probably going way too fast but thought it wouldn't be so bad that late at night. A bad call, but tragic all the same. Right of way doesn't give you license to speed.

As for the force required to spin, less than you think. He didn't hit the vehicle at its center of gravity so leverage would kick in to spin the vehicle. I'll have to dig out my Dynamics text book, but the F = mA would have been plenty high enough for 600 lbs to spin the vehicle.

[NorthHawk]

If I understood the report as presented correctly, he ended up in the back seat which means he hit it near the middle of the vehicle and still turned it.
That takes a lot more force than hitting it near the rear end.

[RiverDog]

If you look at the picture North Hawk posted, it's a large SUV with the back seat in front of the rear axle, so where Collins struck it is not too far from the center of gravity. I'm not a physics major but spinning a 2.5-ton vehicle with 40% of the projectile weight being a human body and ending up in the back seat of it sounds pretty damn violent to me no matter where he struck it.

Plugging Mack's coordinates into Google Maps, it's a light commercial area with a used car lot, a gas station ironically called "Race Trac," a couple of churches, bus stops, and a high school. The intersection has painted crosswalks. Definitely no more than 45 mph speed limit, more likely 35 mph.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/26%C2 ... ?entry=ttu

[TriCitySam]

Really sad, and way too young. I've experienced many times guys on those things zipping way fast in and out of traffic, between cars, etc. Not saying Collins was, but so many just don't seem to understand how close they are to creating their own end.

[MackStrongIsMyHero]

Rear curb weight is 2230; front curb weight is 2584. Wheel base is 130 in. (2230 + 2584)/130 puts the c.o.g. at roughly 60 in. behind the front axle, so very close to the mid point between the axles.

The police report says:

According to investigators, at some point, the Chevrolet driver proceeded to turn left to travel south onto Northwest 33rd Avenue. As the car crossed the eastbound lanes, the motorcycle struck the rear passenger side of the SUV. The impact caused the motorcyclist to enter the rear passenger side window of the Chevrolet and come to a final rest inside the car. The collision also caused the Chevrolet to rotate clockwise before finally resting.

It only says he landed inside the car; rear passenger side would include the rear most side window. I think that's the window he entered which means he possibly struck the vehicle about 6' from the c.o.g. Had he hit the center, you wouldn't have had much rotation to speak of. The back axle tires had to slide on pavement for it to rotate. 2230 lb rear weight and a coefficient of friction of 0.72 is 1606 lb frictional force to overcome. Quick and dirty calculation from F = mA assuming 600 lbf and a deceleration time to zero velocity of 1 second would need him traveling at 60 mph just before impact to get to 1600 lbf. I would bet he was speeding and probably faster than 60 mph.

[MackStrongIsMyHero]

This is two former Razorbacks that have passed recently. Ryan Mallet died just a few weeks ago.

[RiverDog]

Rear curb weight is 2230; front curb weight is 2584. Wheel base is 130 in. (2230 + 2584)/130 puts the c.o.g. at roughly 60 in. behind the front axle, so very close to the mid point between the axles.

The police report says:

According to investigators, at some point, the Chevrolet driver proceeded to turn left to travel south onto Northwest 33rd Avenue. As the car crossed the eastbound lanes, the motorcycle struck the rear passenger side of the SUV. The impact caused the motorcyclist to enter the rear passenger side window of the Chevrolet and come to a final rest inside the car. The collision also caused the Chevrolet to rotate clockwise before finally resting.

It only says he landed inside the car; rear passenger side would include the rear most side window. I think that's the window he entered which means he possibly struck the vehicle about 6' from the c.o.g. Had he hit the center, you wouldn't have had much rotation to speak of. The back axle tires had to slide on pavement for it to rotate. 2230 lb rear weight and a coefficient of friction of 0.72 is 1606 lb frictional force to overcome. Quick and dirty calculation from F = mA assuming 600 lbf and a deceleration time to zero velocity of 1 second would need him traveling at 60 mph just before impact to get to 1600 lbf. I would bet he was speeding and probably faster than 60 mph.

I wouldn't make the assumption that the "rear passenger side window" means the cargo or 3rd row window.

But that's neither here nor there. I agree, I think Collins had to have been going much faster than 60 mph. Unless he was dressed in some pretty conspicuous clothing, like one of our action green jerseys, he probably wasn't real visible going that fast in that small of a vehicle on a blacktop surface at night.

I've seen some absolutely frightening things done by motorcyclists, like lane splitting on a freeway in bumper-to-bumper traffic. They have to have a certain type of mentality to drive those things to start with. Harleys I can understand, but the crotch rockets just look like suicide machines.

[MackStrongIsMyHero]

I would.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkTNUzcKWYc&t=8s

Not the best commentary, but it is the correct location based on street view on Google Maps. It was a collision with the rear of the vehicle.

Hate to hear about motorcycle accidents because of how bad the outcomes typically are. Glad my bro gave his up. I understand motorcycle owners love riding, but I won’t even try it. Nothing but air between me and the rolling blocks of metal and asphalt is far from a comforting thought.

[RiverDog]

I would.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkTNUzcKWYc&t=8s

Not the best commentary, but it is the correct location based on street view on Google Maps. It was a collision with the rear of the vehicle.

Hate to hear about motorcycle accidents because of how bad the outcomes typically are. Glad my bro gave his up. I understand motorcycle owners love riding, but I won’t even try it. Nothing but air between me and the rolling blocks of metal and asphalt is far from a comforting thought.

OK, that makes a difference. But the written description didn't make it obvious. Even the reporter in that video called it a rear windshield and not a window.

From the video it looks like that there was no dedicated left turn signal so I can imagine the driver of the SUV having the green light but not seeing an oncoming low-profile dark blue motorcycle with black tires traveling at a high rate of speed and turn in front of it. Most motorcycle clothing is dark and would have blended into the background, so essentially the only visual cue would have been the single headlight, which, too, could have become part of the background if the driver of the SUV wasn't paying close attention or was distracted/impaired.

10-4 on motorcycles. Riding one was something that my dad really frowned on, and I didn't want to do anything that would disappoint him. Besides, I was saving my money for college and was quite a penny pincher. Later on in life, I didn't see the sense in buying something that you couldn't use for a good part of the year up here in WA.

[MackStrongIsMyHero]

Yeah, I had a coworker tell me they nearly had the same thing happen. They misjudged the single head lamp of the motorcycle. His perception was that it was a vehicle with a head light out. Don't know why it did, but he perceived it as going much slower than it actually was. He stopped in time for the motorcycle to switch to the right land and miss him, but it was a near thing.

[RiverDog]

Yeah, I had a coworker tell me they nearly had the same thing happen. They misjudged the single head lamp of the motorcycle. His perception was that it was a vehicle with a head light out. Don't know why it did, but he perceived it as going much slower than it actually was. He stopped in time for the motorcycle to switch to the right land and miss him, but it was a near thing.

You don't see a heck of a lot of motorcycles out at night, and I imagine it's for the same reasons we've been discussing. They're already a very small profile vs. that of a car in the daytime, then compound that by adding driving at night.