Only baptised JWs in good standing can do that....
http://www.redding.com/top_stories/local/20040330toplo012.shtml
Crash kills off-road racer
Mom says he was near lead, may have pushed too hard
Record Searchlight
March 30, 2004 ? 2:07 a.m.SHASTA DAM ? Minutes from crossing the finish line of a nearly 28-mile off-road race, a Redding man was killed when he was thrown from his motorcycle into a hillside, investigators and race organizers said Monday.
Although he wore a helmet and all the proper racing gear, 21-year-old Travis Kent Hagler died at the scene of Sunday's Shasta Dam Hare Scrambles, officials said.
Hagler was one of about 100 "Class C" bikers competing in the last race of the day. A race for more experienced Class A and Class B riders had been held earlier.
"He had already gone around (the course) once," said organizer Kevin Dauphinee of Redding. "He was just about done with his second lap. He had all the gear, and we do a complete technical inspection of the bike to make sure the brakes worked, and the clutch.
"The bike was fine," he said. "It was just a freak accident."
Hagler was motoring down the dirt and gravel Coram Road on the west side of the Sacramento River when the accident occurred between 2 and 2:45 p.m., according to differing accounts from the Shasta County coroner's office and race officials.
A biker following from behind saw Hagler lose control and fly off the motorcycle, said deputy coroner Mike Booth.
"He just lost it," Booth said.
Other bikers stopped to help, aided by emergency medical technicians and law enforcement on hand for the race.
Authorities said they didn't know how fast Hagler was racing. A pair of investigators returned to the scene Monday for follow-up investigation.
Hagler's mother, Deborah Mabry of Redding, said her son was passing other bikers, was close to the lead and might have pushed too hard.
"He could taste that win," she said Monday. "He just went a little beyond his ability."
The race officially ended with Hagler in the top 20.
But his mother pointed to a string of recent motor vehicle deaths and pleaded with young people to be more careful.
"It's not always best to be the winner," she said. "It's an endurance race we're running. Don't risk your life."
Hagler grew up in the north state, attending Meadow Lane School, Anderson Middle School and Anderson High School before moving to Calaveras County prior to graduation in 2001.
He went to a technical school in Anaheim and then returned to Redding, working for a drywall business.
If he wasn't on a motorcycle, he might have been snowboarding or competing in just about any other sport, his mother said.
"He loved life, he loved people and he loved the outdoors," she said.
Hagler was studying to become a Jehovah's Witness, she said, and was looking forward to his baptism.
Brian Packham, president of the Redding Dirt Riders club, said the death was the first he could remember in any of the club's races. He said it shouldn't affect the future of the scrambles, which may be in jeopardy due to an unrelated policy change by the U.S. Forest Service.
Packham said nothing could have been done to prevent the death.
Ironically, winner Ronnie Naylor said before the race that he would donate any winnings to the family of another dirt biker killed earlier this year. Christopher Fishtrom died in February when he was struck by a train in Shasta Lake. He left behind a 5-year-old son and a pregnant wife.
"Danger is inherent" in off-roading and other sports, Packham said. "This is something that could happen to anyone at any time."