BIKER LOOSES LIFE DURING 81 TOY RUN
Motorcyclist killed during kids' toy drive
Richard Whitworth founded mortgage, software companies
By VIRGINIA HENNESSEY
Herald Salinas Bureau
Article Launched: 12/11/2007 01:36:19 AM PST
The local motorcycling community is grieving the loss of fellow rider and Carmel businessman Richard Whitworth, who was killed Saturday while participating in a Christmas toy run with hundreds of other bikers.
Whitworth, 62, founder of Carmel Mortgage and MorSystems Web sites, died after he was struck from behind by a driver on the Canyon Del Rey entrance to northbound Highway 1 shortly before 2 p.m.
It was a tragic ending to the 23rd toy run in which about 300 riders donated a truck and trailer full of toys to be distributed to local charities for needy children.
His wife, Mary Whitworth, said it was fitting that her husband was helping children when he died.
"He loved helping people," she said Monday. "He had so many neat qualities. He tried to do what was right."
Whitworth was a member of the Ephesians motorcycle club which rides out of Bill's Monterey Custom Motorcycles in Seaside, the shop that hosts the Hell's Angels-sponsored toy ride. Bill Enders, owner of the shop, said Whitworth was trying to protect his fellow riders and other motorists when he died.
He disputed California Highway Patrol reports that Whitworth was struck when he stopped his motorcycle "in the acceleration lane" at the top of the ramp.
Enders said Whitworth had exited northbound Highway 1 at Canyon Del Rey Boulevard and immediately started back up the steep entrance as a means of slowing and alerting oncoming traffic so it would not attempt to merge into the large pack of motorcycles.
He said witnesses, including the rider playing Santa Claus, told him Whitworth was traveling about 5 mph when a 67-year-old woman behind him accelerated quickly, with her eyes on the other motorcyclists, in an effort to get in front of the pack.
Enders arrived seconds later.
"If she hadn't hit (Whitworth), she would have run into the front of the pack and caused a major catastrophe," he said.
Whitworth, a veteran motorcycle rider, was struck from behind by the 2006 Toyota Highlander, throwing him backward off his 2007 Harley Davidson. The woman was not injured.
The CHP declined to identify her by her full name. The accident is still under investigation.
Enders also disputed CHP reports that Whitworth was not wearing a Department of Transportation-certified helmet, but rather a "beanie type" helmet. He said he has ordered the same carbon fiber helmet from its manufacturer and said it is approved by the state.
CHP spokesman John Crivello said the speed of impact is unknown and it has not been determined if the type of helmet Whitworth was wearing contributed to his death.
Even if Whitworth was still moving on the ramp, he said, "Private citizens can't play traffic cop."
However, he conceded, while CHP escorts may be provided for "VIPs and dignitaries," that doesn't include the Hell's Angels.
The CHP "is not really being fair to the motorcyclist," Enders said. "And I think there's some little bit of prejudice going on there and that could be because of whose name is put on the toy run."
Enders said he and Whitworth's club named themselves the Ephesians because of the biblical reference to "bad people who turned good." While the group is not affiliated with the Hell's Angels, it and other clubs have regularly joined that local chapter for its charity drives.
Enders said that the local Hell's Angels have attracted no notoriety in recent years.
Mary Whitworth's description of her husband was hardly that of an outlaw biker. She said he was a longtime member of a Carmel church and past president of the Carmel Valley Rotary Club.
"He was a good father, a good husband," she continued through tears. "He's gone too soon. And I loved him very much."
"Rich was like family to us," Enders said of his friend. "He was a really giving person. And he was very true to his family."
Whitworth, a Pebble Beach resident, founded Carmel Mortgage on St. Patrick's Day 1981, according to a 2004 interview with Mortgage Report. After expanding into Salinas, he turned the company over to his eldest daughter and founded MorSystems, which develops Web sites for mortgage brokers. An early innovator in Internet mortgage-application software, he was running MorSystems when he died.
Tom Sloop, another of Whitworth's motorcycle friends, remembers him as someone who loved the latest technological gadget nearly as much as he loved motorcycles.
Whitworth was a "die-hard rider" who had three Harley Davidsons, including the 2007 he was riding when he died, Sloop said. He'd purchased the bike new, then immediately tore it down and customized it. The work was completed shortly before Saturday's ride.
"Rich was one of the warm, genuine people you could know," he said. "Everything he did came straight from his heart."
STORY SOURCE(click here)
Richard Whitworth founded mortgage, software companies
By VIRGINIA HENNESSEY
Herald Salinas Bureau
Article Launched: 12/11/2007 01:36:19 AM PST
The local motorcycling community is grieving the loss of fellow rider and Carmel businessman Richard Whitworth, who was killed Saturday while participating in a Christmas toy run with hundreds of other bikers.
Whitworth, 62, founder of Carmel Mortgage and MorSystems Web sites, died after he was struck from behind by a driver on the Canyon Del Rey entrance to northbound Highway 1 shortly before 2 p.m.
It was a tragic ending to the 23rd toy run in which about 300 riders donated a truck and trailer full of toys to be distributed to local charities for needy children.
His wife, Mary Whitworth, said it was fitting that her husband was helping children when he died.
"He loved helping people," she said Monday. "He had so many neat qualities. He tried to do what was right."
Whitworth was a member of the Ephesians motorcycle club which rides out of Bill's Monterey Custom Motorcycles in Seaside, the shop that hosts the Hell's Angels-sponsored toy ride. Bill Enders, owner of the shop, said Whitworth was trying to protect his fellow riders and other motorists when he died.
He disputed California Highway Patrol reports that Whitworth was struck when he stopped his motorcycle "in the acceleration lane" at the top of the ramp.
Enders said Whitworth had exited northbound Highway 1 at Canyon Del Rey Boulevard and immediately started back up the steep entrance as a means of slowing and alerting oncoming traffic so it would not attempt to merge into the large pack of motorcycles.
He said witnesses, including the rider playing Santa Claus, told him Whitworth was traveling about 5 mph when a 67-year-old woman behind him accelerated quickly, with her eyes on the other motorcyclists, in an effort to get in front of the pack.
Enders arrived seconds later.
"If she hadn't hit (Whitworth), she would have run into the front of the pack and caused a major catastrophe," he said.
Whitworth, a veteran motorcycle rider, was struck from behind by the 2006 Toyota Highlander, throwing him backward off his 2007 Harley Davidson. The woman was not injured.
The CHP declined to identify her by her full name. The accident is still under investigation.
Enders also disputed CHP reports that Whitworth was not wearing a Department of Transportation-certified helmet, but rather a "beanie type" helmet. He said he has ordered the same carbon fiber helmet from its manufacturer and said it is approved by the state.
CHP spokesman John Crivello said the speed of impact is unknown and it has not been determined if the type of helmet Whitworth was wearing contributed to his death.
Even if Whitworth was still moving on the ramp, he said, "Private citizens can't play traffic cop."
However, he conceded, while CHP escorts may be provided for "VIPs and dignitaries," that doesn't include the Hell's Angels.
The CHP "is not really being fair to the motorcyclist," Enders said. "And I think there's some little bit of prejudice going on there and that could be because of whose name is put on the toy run."
Enders said he and Whitworth's club named themselves the Ephesians because of the biblical reference to "bad people who turned good." While the group is not affiliated with the Hell's Angels, it and other clubs have regularly joined that local chapter for its charity drives.
Enders said that the local Hell's Angels have attracted no notoriety in recent years.
Mary Whitworth's description of her husband was hardly that of an outlaw biker. She said he was a longtime member of a Carmel church and past president of the Carmel Valley Rotary Club.
"He was a good father, a good husband," she continued through tears. "He's gone too soon. And I loved him very much."
"Rich was like family to us," Enders said of his friend. "He was a really giving person. And he was very true to his family."
Whitworth, a Pebble Beach resident, founded Carmel Mortgage on St. Patrick's Day 1981, according to a 2004 interview with Mortgage Report. After expanding into Salinas, he turned the company over to his eldest daughter and founded MorSystems, which develops Web sites for mortgage brokers. An early innovator in Internet mortgage-application software, he was running MorSystems when he died.
Tom Sloop, another of Whitworth's motorcycle friends, remembers him as someone who loved the latest technological gadget nearly as much as he loved motorcycles.
Whitworth was a "die-hard rider" who had three Harley Davidsons, including the 2007 he was riding when he died, Sloop said. He'd purchased the bike new, then immediately tore it down and customized it. The work was completed shortly before Saturday's ride.
"Rich was one of the warm, genuine people you could know," he said. "Everything he did came straight from his heart."
STORY SOURCE(click here)
posted by Demo at Tuesday, December 11, 2007
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