American Motorcyclist May 2018

Ups & Downs

Down

To the criminals who strung a rope across a Tucson, Ariz., road that caused severe injuries to motorcycle passenger Linda Gonzales. She and her fiancé, Ron Bondy, were traveling home on a motorcycle when Bondy leaned forward to flip a switch and Gonzales was struck by a rope suspended over the road. A neighbor told investigators he saw four teens with a rope near the scene shortly before the crash. Gonzales, 64, underwent several surgeries to repair injuries to her mouth, cheeks and jaw, fractures to both eye sockets and damage to her right optic nerve.

Down

To Brandon Howard Stadiem, 35, of Raleigh, N.C., for attempting to harm two motorcyclists by striking them with his car. One victim suffered several sprains and the other suffered a concussion. Friends of the victims who saw the incident followed Stadiem’s car into an apartment complex to get his license plate number for police. Stadiem then rolled over another rider. Stadiem was charged with assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury, felony hit and run, misdemeanor hit and run, and assault with a deadly weapon. He was released on a $60,000 bond.