Motorcyle rides may be charged with negligent homicide

The Tuesday night accident on Rte. 3 North that resulted in the death of a 34-year old Nashua woman is being investigated as a possible case of negligent homicide. Laconia Police Lt. John MacLennan said yesterday there is reason to believe the operator of the motorcycle on which Cindy L. Phillips was riding had a "high blood alcohol content".

Brett Phillips, 37 of Peabody, Mass. has not as of yet been charged with any crime and the investigation of the accident continues. At press time it was not clear what, if any, family relationship existed between the Cindy and Brett Philips.

Brett Phillips was reportedly riding northbound about 9:15 p.m. when he came in came in contact with two pedestrians who were walking with their backs to him, just south of Funspot. The 1994 Harley-Davidson then veered off into the southbound lane where Cindy Phillips was struck by an oncoming Toyota pickup truck.

MacLennan said there is no evidence to suggest that Cindy Phillips had been thrown from the motorcycle prior to being hit by the truck. She was transported to Lakes Region General Hospital, where she was pronounced dead. MacLennan said an autopsy is being performed to determine the exact cause of death.

The two pedestrians, Denise Hugli, 33, of Bedford and Valerie Lennon, 32, of Manchester did not sustain serious injuries. Brett Phillips was not badly hurt, either.

The driver of the pickup, Allia Hayes, 22, of Meredith was not injured and MacLennan said the there was no evidence to suggest she was in any way at fault for the accident. "She was just in the wrong place at the wrong time," he said.

As for the general conditions at the accident scene, MacLennan said the road is very dangerous because there is "little or not light" and there are no sidewalks for pedestrians to use.

Charlie St. Clair, Executive Director of the Laconia Motorcycle Week Association, said events like Cindy Phillips death are the "worst thing we (the association) deal with". He referred to problems created by inexperienced riders and riders who become distracted and called on everyone attending the 81st Laconia Motorcycle Rally to "pay attention."

Laconia Fire Chief Ken Erickson said yesterday he was shocked by the severity of some of the injuries he has seen during during the first four days of Bike Week. He said serious trauma cases had really put fire department employees to the test and he was proud of their performance. "They're working their butts off," he said. As of Wednesday morning 17 seriously injured people had been transported out of Lakes Region General Hospital by helicopter.

Erickson said he has nine people working on a shift, only two more than normal.