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Motorcyclist determined to be traveling 120 mph

Submitted by WWAY on Tue, 02/24/2009 - 6:07pm.READ MORE:

Some startling new information about the fatal motorcycle and taxi cab accident that happened in Wilmington over the weekend. The police report says 26-year old William Ward, Jr. was driving a motorcycle 120 miles an hour down Eastwood Road when he slammed into a taxi cab driven by 49-year-old Shukil Mohamed Rahibaux, the owner of Kat's Taxi. Both vehicles exploded into a blaze, and both men were killed. Ward had previous speeding convictions and was driving on a revoked license.

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Motorcycle /cab crash

Submitted by Das Weibstück on Mon, 03/09/2009 - 3:06pm.

Do motorcycles headlights come on automatically at night? Just a thought but, was it possible that the motorcycle was not burning his headlight? If he was as careless as he seems to have been it is possible that he had no lights on to be seen by the cab driver.

Headlamp

Submitted by VTXXX (not verified) on Tue, 03/10/2009 - 9:51pm.

All motorcycles are wired for the headlamp to come on when the ignition is turned on, however you have the guys that run from the law that have their headlamp and tail lamp on a switch for a quick vanishing act. No excuse for this guy that was at x2 the mph for a death of an innocent person. Regards,

Most bikes do

Submitted by guesty on Mon, 03/09/2009 - 5:45pm.

Most bikes as soon as you turn the key to the on position the headlight and both front turn signals light up constantly. Some harley's do have off switches (don't know why you would want to turn it off) but as far as I know all import bikes don't have the option to turn it off.

thanks

Submitted by Das Weibstück on Tue, 03/10/2009 - 8:53am.

Thanks for the input guesty. I haven't been on a bike for years myself. Either way... Do you think at 120mph he could have avoided the car if he was sober (not sure) or paying attention?

doubt it

Submitted by guesty on Tue, 03/10/2009 - 10:30am.

The best way he could've avoided the cab was to keep his non-license holding butt home. Trying to stop a bike quickly without locking up the rear tire is hard.

true

Submitted by Das Weibstück on Tue, 03/10/2009 - 6:41pm.

How TRUE !! He was just an accident waiting to happen.

Nothing else was legal about the idiot

Submitted by Sad Observer (not verified) on Mon, 03/09/2009 - 5:02pm.

The light does come on with the engine. But since nothing else was legal why should I or we believe it was working. There is no excuse for ward to have murdered the other driver.

I wondered the same thing.

Submitted by Guest4533 (not verified) on Mon, 03/09/2009 - 4:38pm.

I wondered the same thing. As fast as he was going, he might have left the lights off on purpose.

I thought...

Submitted by eersfan (not verified) on Mon, 03/09/2009 - 3:17pm.

motorcycle headlights are wired to come when the engine does. Maybe a motorcycle rider can clear up any confusion.

moto vs cab

Submitted by Guest known (not verified) on Thu, 02/26/2009 - 10:41pm.

I feel as though this is a horrible accident. Many people get into accidents everyday. Their not done on purpose, thats why their "accidents". I have had a ticket or 2 myself and can relate to the speeding thing. not 120 but some over.. anger can cause speeding and/or when your thinking about something else you just tend to tap the gas a little harder then you intended. At that he was driving a motorcycle aka "crotch rocket". Their not called that for no reason. They are made to accell way faster then a reg. auto. You just have to respect the power a motocycle has. As for the family I really feel for both families and pray they will get through this as fast as possible and learn to be active in safe driving especially on weekends where theres more crazies out there.. I do want to say to will's girlfriend/wife to be your in my prayers girl. Keep god on your shoulder and family and friends close. And Shukil's family you lost a great guy and he will be missed by most of wilmington.

No Accident

Submitted by VicM (not verified) on Fri, 02/27/2009 - 4:54pm.

An accident is not defined as something not done on purpose, but actions that would typically not result in any negative outcome. That is exactly opposite of what happened here. Excessive speeding was the action that resulted in two deaths. Never mind the license part, but that did not specifically contribute to the accident. I know, everyone will argue that if he had been abiding by the law it would not have happened in the first place. Can't do anything about that and you can question every move both men made all night as something that could have altered their schedule enough to not be in the same place at the same time. No, the contributing factor is speeding and this was no "accident". This was a crash, with fault and something you can specifically blame. SPEED.

I feel the chances of the

Submitted by guest 1010 (not verified) on Wed, 02/25/2009 - 2:46pm.

I feel the chances of the cab driver getting through the intersection safely had the motorcycle been travelling the speed limit are pretty good to great. As fast as the motorcycle was driving, his headlight was just a small flash for Shak. Reckless bevavior such as this cannot be justified by anyone!

Wow

Submitted by Guest35435435 (not verified) on Wed, 02/25/2009 - 1:43pm.

120 mph... DOUBLE the posted (legal) speed limit and family will try to blame the cabbie? Are you serious? At 120mph the cabbie would have never had time to compensate for that type of speed, would have seen the headlight and would never have had time to react. Not in a million years. The same was the case for the young man killed on Shipyard Blvd a year ago. He was traveling over 100mph and the car pulling out never saw him. Now for the people bashing him as a felon... That is a bit unfair.. I personally know someone who was charged with a felony during the Military cutoff mushroom days because one person inside his car had a mushroom. (Eight high school teenagers were charged for one person's bad decision and nhcsd decided to make examples out of these boys at the time)Not everyone in this world that was convicted with a felony in their past is a bad person. You and I both do not know the circumstances of this man's criminal past and we cannot blame a motorcycle accident on that. We can blame stupidity, carelessness and recklessness on the accident. he DID break the law by driving on a suspended license AND over 100mph. He deserved the consequences of his actions and the cabbie was an innocent victim in this case and because of his stupidity two people are dead. My thoughts and prayers.

I DONT KNOW YOU BUT MY

Submitted by MARGIE (not verified) on Fri, 02/27/2009 - 7:49pm.

I DONT KNOW YOU BUT MY NEWPHEW DID NOT DESERVE TO DIE THE CAB DRIVER SOULD NOT HAD PULLED OUT IF ANYONE IS STUPID ITS YOU IT TAKES STUPID PEOPLE LIKE YOU TO WRITE SOMETHING LIKE THIS HAVE A GOOD DAY

It's interesting. Any

Submitted by Reasonable (not verified) on Tue, 03/03/2009 - 12:39am.

It's interesting. Any reasonable person knows this wreck was because of the motorcycle driver. It's unbelieveable the family continues to blame the cab driver. I hope they get a great attorney. If they need the name of one....I can help them with that.

the one who didn't deserve

Submitted by Guest37893 (not verified) on Tue, 03/03/2009 - 12:36am.

the one who didn't deserve to die was the cab driver

Your nephew had been

Submitted by Guest378973 (not verified) on Tue, 03/03/2009 - 12:35am.

Your nephew had been drinking. He was speeding at 12o mph, he was driving without a license. It's amazing that all of you continue to defend his behavior even after he killed himself and an innocent man.

I keep hearing people saying

Submitted by WilmMan on Tue, 03/03/2009 - 12:45pm.

I keep hearing people saying Will was drinking...has that been confirmed yet?

Margie, If your nephew had

Submitted by Guest1636 (not verified) on Mon, 03/02/2009 - 11:55am.

Margie, If your nephew had survived this crash, he would have been charged with the killing of the cab driver - either murder, manslaughter, or felony vehicular homicide. No one can react to a vehicle traveling at those speeds on the city streets - there just isn't time. When the cab driver looked down the road for traffic, the motorcyle headlight would have been just a speck in the distance. By the time the car got going, that speck would have been right on top of him. Your nephew was operating that motorcyle in a grossly negligent manner, in such a way that a reasonable person would beleive could result in the death of another. This crash was his fault and his fault alone. He murdered the cab driver.

Let's see

Submitted by SurfCityTom on Mon, 03/02/2009 - 8:32am.

Your nephew had been drinking. Your nephew was operating a motorcycle at 120 miles per hour. How was it the cabbie's fault?

Motorcycle/Taxi accident

Submitted by cintrek (not verified) on Wed, 02/25/2009 - 12:34pm.

My prayers go out to both families for their loss. I've been traveling on River Road & see this type of behavior from motorcyclists on a regular basis. Even watched a biker have an accident up ahead cause he didn't make the curve at the Snows Cut bridge somehow got back up & drove off speeding still. I've even seen in traffic on Market & S. College Rd. I do call 911 but the biker is looooong gone by the time police show. This type of reckless behavior is usually done by teenage boys & young men. I guess it's the rush of speed & the thrill of coming close to death that these boys love.

You people that are posting

Submitted by Guest on Wed, 02/25/2009 - 10:11am.

You people that are posting the horrible things about Will need to learn some respect!!! RESPECT his family stop bashing him, It was an accident.

No

Submitted by WilmingtonMAJ on Wed, 02/25/2009 - 11:15am.

No it wasn't an "accident" it was criminal neglect and if he were alive he would be standing trial for vehicular manslaughter for breaking the law and taking a life!

I definitely feel bad for

Submitted by Guest1636 (not verified) on Wed, 02/25/2009 - 11:09am.

I definitely feel bad for both families involved. They are all suffering right now. But, this wasn't an accident. He deliberately drove 120 mph on a city street - no even out on the open highway. That's like standing on a city sidewalk, closing your eyes, and firing a gun. A reasonable person would know that this type of behavior might kill someone. Had he lived, Mr. Ward would have been charged with either murder, manslaughter, or felony vehicular homicide. A few years back, some teenager was driving 95 mph on 17th Street near Pine Valley at somewhere around 5 in the morning. A lady pulled out onto 17th Street and was broadsided by the speeding car. She died and the teen driver was charged with murder. I don't remember the outcome of the case, but he did end up in jail. Same thing would have happened to Mr. Ward if he hadn't died in the crash.

How?

Submitted by This.Kills.Me on Wed, 02/25/2009 - 11:00am.

How was this an accident? Please tell me. It was not accident that he had his license revoked. It was not accident he was traveling down Eastwood Rd, which is posted at 55mph, at 120 mph. It was no accident that he was being reckless. As for "bashing," we can say what ever we wish on here. I know it may hurt you, the family, and the friends to hear the truth, but the truth needs to be spoken. Had this young man not made a poor decision to illegally ride a motorcycle at a high rate of speed, then this "accident," as you call it, would have never happened. The trend with poor decisions seems to have followed this young man for a while. It appalls me that in this day and age no person seems to be able to take responsibility and accountability for their actions. I have read, through many posts, that this young man was trying to turn his life around. The actions he took on that night did not reflect any of the ideals that would indicate turning his life around. It sounds like he was just as reckless and full of bad decisions as he ever had been and they caught up with him. Overall the saddest fact was that he took an innocent life. My thoughts and prayers are with both families, regardless of the post I wrote here.

It was suicide and vehicular

Submitted by Guest3894k (not verified) on Wed, 02/25/2009 - 10:29am.

It was suicide and vehicular homicide. People did respect his family but they must have been tired of them trying to blame the cabbie for Will driving 120 miles per hour. Looks like they brought this on themselves but I'm sure if you ask them....it was someone else's fault. It's a common theme within the family.

There is no doubt from this

Submitted by Guest1111 (not verified) on Tue, 02/24/2009 - 9:44pm.

There is no doubt from this story that if the motorcycle rider had been obeying the law then both these men would still be alive. I am sorry for both families but this story tells us a lot about taking personal responsibility for our actions. He should not have been driving at all, and if he was going to drive on a revoked license, then why wasn't he driving the speed limit? Of course, with enough citations to get your license revoked, maybe this is the way he drove all of the time, with no regard to the safety of others. As I said, my condolences to both families, but there is no denying that this was the direct result of Ward's decision to break the law. There is no excuse for driving in this manner, revoked license or not. Just consider how much worse this could have been if the traffic was heavier.

If he had a suicide wish he

Submitted by Guestwhat (not verified) on Tue, 02/24/2009 - 7:25pm.

If he had a suicide wish he should have just picked a longleaf pine to plow into.

Well there you have it

Submitted by still sad (not verified) on Tue, 02/24/2009 - 6:22pm.

When do we find out what his blood alcohol level was?

just wait

Submitted by SurfCityTom on Tue, 02/24/2009 - 6:21pm.

no doubt the cyclist's survivors will feel the accident scene investigation is flawed. Were it not, they would feel vindicated because somehow it would prove beyond a shadow of a reasonable doubt, the cab driver's to blame for getting in the way of the speeding motorcycle. As I said in an earlier post, the motorcycle owner's challenges are just beginning. Amazing how a misguided but reforming felonist could be involved in such an incident. I wonder if the cyclist's survivors will allow a blood test to determine BAC level?

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