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Report In On Plant City Motorcycle Officer Crash That Injured 4

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By GEORGE WILKENS | The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 2, 2008

PLANT CITY - The motorcycle in a Plant City Police Department demonstration Nov. 18 that injured two spectators, the police chief and the driver was going 37 mph when it skidded out of control, according to a report on the accident.

The department's preliminary report, obtained today, states that when Officer Chad Rader applied the front brake of the 2005 Harley-Davidson outside police headquarters, the wheel locked and the motorcycle skidded, leaving a 41-foot mark.

When Rader attempted to steer to the right, the cycle tipped over, throwing him, the report states. The 800-pound cycle slid 36 feet on its side, striking bleachers holding 17 members of the Greater Plant City Chamber of Commerce leadership program.

As the motorcycle approached the bleachers, an officer clocked its speed.

Two women in the front row, Lynn Connor, 42, and Pam Knight, 39, had leg injuries and were taken by ambulance to South Florida Regional Hospital. Knight was released two days after the accident.

Connor was transferred to Habana Health Care Center on Nov. 26, where she remains for daily therapy after two surgeries for a "very significant injury" to her right leg, said Helen Stratigakos, a Tampa lawyer representing Connor.

Stratigakos said she notified the city she is investigating claims from the accident and requested that her investigators be allowed to examine the motorcycle.

Another Tampa lawyer, Tom Scarritt, who is handling the case for the city, said he, too, is retaining an independent accident reconstruction expert to study the crash.

Police Chief Bill McDaniel, 46, was standing near the bleachers during the demonstration and had minor injuries. Rader, 29, had "minor road rash."

Neither officer was hospitalized.

Reporter George Wilkens can be reached at (813) 865-4433 or gwilkens@tampatrib.com.

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