Two blocks before he crashed a dirt bike and died, Tywan Richard “Ty Ty” Samuels was doing a wheelie. And there were no cops in sight.
The police Monday made available video footage to that effect in an effort to tamp down a viral social-media rumor.
At the 19-second mark in the above video, Samuels is seen riding a Yamaha dirt bike and doing the wheelie on Sherman Avenue around 9 p.m. on on July 21. He crashed two blocks later, and was subsequently pronounced dead at the hospital. He was 28 years old.
The video doesn’t capture the crash. Nor does it show any cops following behind Samuels.
That last point is crucial: Rumors spread on social media that police had engaged Samuels in a high-speed chase, leading to his death. Postings called for people to protest the cops as a result at public events.
The police department issued a statement this weekend asserting that crash investigators have found no evidence of any police pursuit or police presence, period.
“There is no pursuit. There is, in fact, no one at all behind Samuels prior to his losing control and striking the curb. Furthermore, Samuels is performing a wheelie, causing him to lose control as the road curves northbound,” police spokesman David Hartman wrote in a release. He added that Samuels had been riding an unregistered, uninsured stolen bike. Police ended up seizing illegal ATVs and dirt bikes and making two arrests at a vigil held for Samuels the night after crash.
Dirt-bikers have been endangering people’s safety in New Haven for years, especially in warm weather, leading to pressure on police to catch more of them in the act of tearing illegally down public streets. A less-discussed aspect of the controversy is the danger to the riders themselves. Like Samuels, 24-year-old veteran rider Leron Stone suffered permanent life-altering injuries after crashing his dirt bike while speeding down Grand Avenue in 2017. The above video captures the crash. (Warning: It contains disturbing images.)
Why not ban the sale of dirt bikes and their operation in Connecticut altogether? And why not enforce the law on the big, fat chopper bikes with their noisy mufflers that keep folks awake at night.
And why don't auto insurance companies add a rider that they will not cover accidents caused if their insured is riding a dirt bike ?
There are ways to curb behavior that the public finds disagreeable or inappropriate. The majority finds dirt bikes and loud cycles disturbing and dangerous.