Dragon deaths
 

Yeah unfortunately a few of us knew the driver. I was talking to him the night of the crash. :(

Sad to here. This road has no mercy. It like to have been me too this year. I question if it is worth driving or not sometimes. One thing for sure, bad things can happen on your way to work, or way home.

My wife and I were down there for a week in early April - first timer. Did the Dragon, Cherohala, Moonshiner, etc., and came home along most of the BRP northbound. Perfect timing as there was virtually no traffic (or police) everywhere we went.

Anyway, I would NEVER drive the Dragon in the dark, at least not spiritedly. The key to being able to drive quickly in the dark is visibility.

So sad - so young.

Long time ago I used to go to Deals Gap every year with the R1-Forum for our yearly convention. It seemed like every year we lost someone in our group either to death or serious injury. The last time I was scheduled to go I lost a really good friend not on the dragon but riding dirtbikes nearby. He tabletopped a jump and had to have surgery. Died from a clot right after I talked to him on the phone and said I was about to head up. I never went back. I remember my first runs through scared to death at 25mph and I remember bombing through on one of my R1's like I was at the track. I figure if I ever go back to that place I'll tiptoe through and just remember how I did it back in the day.

He was a member here just letting you guys know

Very sad. A member of our forum, wow.

Very sad indeed. Always sad to hear about tragedies like this. Heart goes out to family and friends for they are the ones who suffer most. Be careful out their guys.

Very unfortunate and sad news. RIP to both. Who was he here in the forum?

His name was Klye Moroney and his forum name was Halfkiddio
He was a good friend. I'm going to miss him dearly. :(
The other guy who died was Tanner Umphrey.
I didn't know Tanner but from what I can gather he was a car guy just not involved in the Z community.

Damn.Seemed like a good kid who knew his stuff pretty well for his age.

RIP forum brother:(

This sucks even worse. I will miss him. He said he was on the Dragon all the time.

I'm really ****** up by this for a few reasons.
1. He was the same age as me
2. He was a pretty awesome guy. Fun to talk to
3. I was talking to him the day of the crash

RIP Kyle and Tanner. My sincerest condolences to their families and loved ones.
So tragic.

There is a Go Fund Me to help Kyle's parents out with costs. Any donations would be greatly appreciated.

https://www.gofundme.com/support-for-kyles-family

Terrible tragedy... :-(

Rip

R.i.p. :(

Incredibly sad...someone died my first year at the dragon. Someone on a motorcycle. Actually 3 bikes went down the side of a cliff and one of the 3 died..not to mention 2 re5's totaled and one had to be pulled out of the water by a wrecker..i had footage of it on my old phone. That road has to be the most dangerous in the U.S.

Sad to hear, sincere sympathy to the families.

I met him for the first time a couple weeks ago at ZDayZ. Shared some beers. He laughed at me for randomly passing out as I kept falling asleep mid conversation. I remember him being a fun loving guy, warm personality and inviting. RIP.

RIP...

This is sad, especially since these two had a whole life ahead of them.

With that being said, people (of all ages) have to realize that The Dragon is just a road just like any other road out there. It's not a prepped race track with wide runoffs on either side, with all traffic going in the same direction. It's a public road with traffic on it in both directions, debris, animals, etc, etc, and has to be treated like any other road.

I know my limitations, and I'll be honest, I DON'T know the limitations of my Z, but I'm sure as heck not going to try and find out on drastically changing, non-familiar roads. As fun and as exciting as it would be, I just won't do it. I'm at a point in my life where sometimes it's just better and more enjoyable to slow down a little, relax and just take in the scenery and savor the ride. When I want real excitement and a thrill, I'll take my Z to a track.

It's unfortunate that this happened to these two young kids, but we can't blame the road. The road just sits there. Yes, it has "claimed" lives, but I guarantee that Interstate 4 here in Central Florida claims tons more per year, and it's basically a straight line from one side of the state to the other, 133 miles in total.

Thats very sad to hear of these types of news.

They were taken to young but God needed them more.

All I can offer is my sincere condolences to both Families and Friends/Members who knew them.

Yup, truly a tragedy.

Someone mentioned in a FB Z forum that it may have been a mechanical failure.

Hate to say it, but I doubt it. They were young kids, so probably the only mechanical failure being the wrong foot on the wrong pedal at the wrong time. I could be wrong, but doubt it.

This is so sad.

I read it was a blown tire in the comments section of one of the stories I read, but I don't know how anyone, that didn't actually witness some sort of failure, can say a mechanical failure *caused* the accident. Hitting a tree and rolling down a mountain-side would necessarily make a lot of stuff fail. (tires included)

I remember waving to Kyle multiple times at Zdayz but never stopped him to chat. Life cut too short and missed opportunities to meet a cool guy. RIP Kyle.

Sent from my SM-G930P using Tapatalk

The story I got was he got 2 tires off the road in a fast section and was unable to recover

There are a few of us that know what actually happened but I don't know if I'm allowed to share

I met Kyle at ZDayZ this year. Seem like a nice kid with lots of knowledge about the Z. Had a good chat with him. He was raggin' on me about winning the MA Motorsports diff cooler. Told him," tough luck, buttercup. I got it". Said he wanted it badly. Said that he put most of his tickets into. He still won the MA Motorsports harness bar. :icon17:

He will be missed. :( Gone too soon. :(

RIP Kyle.

It's not important that you tell all. Keep it private. No need to cause other issues. It won't change a thing.

I remember seeing this on Instagram and my heart dropped as if it was a family member. I didn't know him but the fact that he was a Z owner is scary. Someone so young losing his life is terrifying. A mother should never bury their children. My condolences to his family and friends.

Not trying to start anything, because I'm not, and I am truly sorry for what happened and that young lives were lost, but unless you were physically there and witnessed the events for yourself, then how would you possibly know what actually happened?

That's all I'm saying. I'm not trying to start an argument or accuse anyone of anything.

As I said before, these are ordinary public roads with countless variables that can cause an enjoyable drive to go bad in an instant. Add speed and possibly a somewhat inexperienced driver to that mix, and...

Prayers to both families and everyone who knew these two guys

Rest in Peace brothers

-Spoiler

spoke to someone that witnessed it.

Let's leave the how and why alone.

At this point it doesn't matter.

Let's focus on the remembering Kyle and Tanner.

:iagree: