Police chief stresses bike safety following midweek accidents

LACONIA — Police Chief Matt Canfield reminded everyone to stay safe on the last weekend of the 103rd Laconia Motorcycle Week, during a press conference Friday morning, at The NASWA Resort.

“Just want to remind people, if you’re going to consume alcohol, do so responsibly. Seek out designated drivers. There are plenty of rideshare options in the area, ways to get home without having to drive afterward,” he said. “We also want to remind people to wear helmets, because we’ve seen a number of serious accidents as of lately.”

This week there have been several motorcycle accidents.

A motorcyclist collided with a truck at 10:12 a.m. on June 16, on Court Street, causing the road to be closed for hours, to remove the bike and bring the patient to Concord Hospital-Laconia. The motorcyclist suffered traumatic injuries to the head, back, and legs.

Fire Chief Tim Joubert was at the scene, and said the driver of the truck was taken to the hospital just to be safe.

"Minor, minor injuries. He was just transported to Concord Hospital-Laconia as a precaution," he said.

Another crash on Wednesday, Joubert mentioned at the press conference, left another occupant with traumatic injuries, but they are expected to make a full recovery, after being taken to the hospital.

“We also had a head injury, and the others were bumps, bruises, and breaks — nothing crazy,” Joubert said. The occupants involved were taken to Concord Hospital-Laconia for treatment.

A motorcycle caught fire at the corner of Lakeside and Foster avenues at Weirs Beach at 3:21 p.m. on Wednesday. Luckily, a bystander was able to knock it down with a fire extinguisher, before firefighters came to the scene.

“One of our biggest concerns, obviously, is that motorcycles are so densely packed down there. If one gets going, it would just be mass all the way down, so we really got lucky that someone was there,” Joubert said.

Joubert and Motorcycle Week Executive Director Charlie St. Clair talked about the importance of wearing helmets. “I just try to remind people to be smart on your motorcycle, because the reality is, you can prevent most of these accidents,” said St. Clair.

Thursday was an eventful day weather-wise, with thunderstorm and tornado watches across New Hampshire.

“We are very fortunate to have a great relationship with the Department of Homeland Security, so we had direct contacts with them throughout the day. We’re working real closely with vendors, and according to the police department, making sure everyone in the area is aware of the potential danger. We were really fortunate that it kind of went around us, but a lot of the other surrounding towns will be really impacted by it, thousands still without power nearby,” Joubert said Friday morning.

Later Thursday evening, the skies cleared, bringing sun just in time for the POW/MIA Freedom Ride, as well as the annual tattoo contest on the shore of Paugus Bay behind The NASWA.

“This is our last press conference of the rally, but the rally is certainly not over,” said Jennifer Anderson, Motorcycle Week deputy director.

“We are incredibly fortunate to have such a close, significant, friendly, and helpful relationship with all of our partners for everything that happens behind the scenes.”

“This event touches just about every one of our departments in the city. They work all week — forget about leading up to the week — focusing on this, and at the same time still continuing to provide their normal day-to-day operations for all of our residents and visitors,” said City Manager Kirk Beattie.

“Thank you very much everyone,” St. Clair said. “We look forward to next year’s 104th.”

The 103rd Laconia Motorcycle Week runs through Sunday, June 21.