Motorcyclist Joins “No Helmet” Protest Ride, Hits Head And Dies
From the archive: published Jul 3, 2011, 15 years ago. Details may have changed since.
A motorcyclist in New York City decided to take part in a helmet-less ride on Saturday to protest New York’s helmet laws when he flipped over his bike’s handlebars, hit his head on the pavement and died.
Philip Contos, 55, was riding his bike down Route 11 at approximately 1:30pm when he hit his brakes, went into a fishtail and spun out of control before flipping over the handlebars on his bike and hitting his head.
State Troopers has reported that had he been wearing a helmet his head-to-pavement collision would not have caused his death.
It’s a sad, yet ironic set of circumstances.