details

Just after five-thirty, Duane climbed onto his Harley-Davidson Sportster to head back over to his house. Candace [Oakley, Berry's sister] and Dixie [Duane's girlfriend] followed in one car, and Berry tagged along behind them in his car to pick up the [birthday] cake and presents stashed at Duane's place. Candace followed Duane down Pio Nono Avenue until they turned right onto Hillcrest Avenue, the shortcut to west Macon. Berry was a horrible driver and, typically, he missed the turn and had to take a longer route over to Duane's house. Duane guided the big Harley chopper down Hillcrest, a flat stretch of road with big trees hanging over the street. The speed limit was thirty-five but Duane ignored it. When he came up behind a slow car, he simply shot around it. Duane eased the bike on a little faster when the street began to crawl down a sharp hill. He zipped under the flashing yellow light at the intersection of Inverness Avenue. There was a bump in the road — a sudden dip like a roller coaster — and with a little speed, it gave the illusion of free-falling. He must have been doing forty-five, maybe fifty. Duane was in a hurry; always a hurry. Candace was probably four or five car lengths behind him by now. From the hill, she could see Duane approach the intersection of Bartlett Avenue. A Chevy flatbed truck that was coming toward them slowed down and began crawling into a left turn in front of Duane. It had a yellow crane boom on the back for unloading lumber. Duane gently pushed the bike to his left, toward the centerline, so he could swing around the truck. Then the truck did the unexpected: halfway through the turn it stopped dead in the road, blocking Duane's entire lane. Duane pushed the bike farther toward the middle of the street. He was only a few feet away from the truck now, and it was still stopped in front of him. Duane had two options: he could lay the bike down, or he could try to veer around the truck. He had an instant to make the decision. For a moment, it looked as it Duane was going to be able to finesse his way through. Then Candace and Dixie watched in horror as he came off the bike. He had hit something, the cable hanging from the crane or a big weight ball dangling on the cable or maybe the rear corner of the truck. His helmet flew off and the bike bounced up in the air, landing on top of him and driving him hard into the pavement. The bike skidded ninety feet, leaving three gouge marks in the pavement, then slammed into the curb. It slid along the edge of the street a few more feet and came to rest between the curb and the right tire of an oncoming car. The bike's engine was revved up at full blast. It was screaming. The truck driver climbed out of the cab. He checked the boy lying in the road. Then he walked over to the motorcycle and shut it off. It was 5:44 in the afternoon.

Location of Death

Site of Motorcycle Accident

Newspaper

    

Motorcycle