200 Return To Crash Site To Promote ​“MC” Unity

More than 200 friends, family, and fellow motorcyclists gathered again at the corner of Whalley and Ramsdell Tuesday night to mourn the death of Revolucion motorcycle club (MC) President Daniel Velazquez Quinones in a crash last Friday. 

Velazquez Quinones was hit at the corner by an alleged drunk driver while riding his motorcycle.

While lighting candles, chanting ​“Revolucion!”, and making smoke clouds by revving their motorcycle engines, the community celebrated the life of Velazquez Quinones.

Fellow motorcyclists also came in support of drawing attention to the dangers motorcyclist face on the road due to a lack of education and awareness of safety for all road users.

“There’s power in numbers,” said Debo, 40 a member of Wheels of Soul MC. ​“People got to pay more attention. It’s deadly.”

Last year, Debo sustained a broken foot and other injuries from being hit by a 18-wheeler while riding his motorcycle.

Local MC members joined to pay their respects to a well-respected leader in the biker community.

A member of the New Haven Chapter of Flaming Knights MC named Dolo said in his 19 years of riding, he has seen few road improvements to keep bikers safe from distracted and careless car drivers.

When riding his Kawasaki, Dolo said, he often avoids the Whalley and Ramsdell intersection.

“There’s no respect on the road. These are the dangers we go through regardless of what kind of area we’re in,” Dolo said.

Car drivers are often distracted on the road, don’t correctly judge distance, and/or don’t understand the difficulty in stopping quickly on a two-wheeled vehicle, he said. ​“There’s more than just cars on the road, and everybody needs to learn that.”

Members of the humanitarian organization New Era Young Lords (NEYL) joined the Tuesday gathering to show respect for MCs. ​“This is about unity. Strength. Upliftment,” said NEYL state chapter chief Lobo, 41.

Lobo said he was supposed to meet with Velazquez Quinones for the first time next month to organize a diaper drive and park clean-up collaboration between NEYL and Revolucion.

NEYL planned to include Revolucion in a coalition undertaking community efforts throughout Connecticut.

In addition to celebrating Velazquez Quinones’ life and the need for awareness to road safety, the bikers said, they showed up to promote unity in the MC community.

Debo joined Wheels of Soul MC two years ago to have a ​“supportive” and ​“relatable” group around him, he said.

“Being in a club gives you discipline and structure,” he said. ​“And it just feels good to know you always have someone to call on.”

Debo said MC members, whether in the same club or not, can always depend on receiving help from a fellow motorcyclist if ever pulled over on the side of the road. ​“This is what we do. When one of us is fallen we pick each other up,” he said.