I think that it absolutely sucks that you would publish sensationalist photos of the body under the tarp. How would you feel if you that person's family?

In addition, the article centers more around the traffic tie-up than the father of an 11 month old losing his life. It's pathetic!

i agree with erniezap. that was my cousin-in-law and it does suck that you guys decide to talk more about the traffic and bad weather than my actual cousin and the loss of her husband and my poor nephew is fatherless now. i could careless that, that child was hot in the car. her mother should have done something about it. whats wrong with your damn minds??!! Felipe we miss u so much already. we're sorry that such a horrible thing had to happen to you. a good man, father, husband, son, friend. You'll FOREVER BE IN OUR HEARTS>
- ana barajas

Obviously if there was a fatality the freeway will be closed. The same darned thing happens in an automobile accident. My sympathy to the family of Filipe.. since you posted pictures of the "tarp" covering his body not only once but twice. Thanks for taking pictures of the back of that one biker's jacket.. trying to make people not care just because those are bikers?

So did this article give us any news, like what was the cause??? Inquirying minds want to know... Gawd I hate the media

I think perhaps you folks are a little confused. This is a news story not an obit or an editorial. It seems to me that Mr. Dallas did a fine and thorough job of reporting the who, what, when, where. Just exactly as he's supposed to do in fact. As for the details about what caused the accident, I don't imagine the police had determined that at the time the story was filed. Could be wrong but I doubt it. If the cause was known then I'm pretty sure it would have been in this story.

Did you notice that the info about the fatality at the top of the article is an update? That means at the time he originally posted this story he did not know the name of the victim let alone that he had a wife and child. This is a small town paper and compared to others I've seen is quite professional, well written, and objective.

I'm sorry for you loss but I don't think it's right to beat up on the reporter and definitely not fair to accuse him of being insensitive when he couldn't have known those details about the victim when the story was posted.
(Edited 04/14/08 4:09 am)

I think this story sucks! A man lost his life, others were injured, and the focus of the story seems to be the subsequent traffic jam. Also, the picture of the tarp-covered body on the roadway was in very poor taste.

The story is incorrect. I rarely believe what journalist report anymore.

One of the riders tried CPR on the fatally injured man and he died in her arms.

Why wasn't the hit and run addressed? The van who ran him over is still out there.

God bless Felipe and bless the family as well.
(Edited 04/14/08 12:38 pm)

Biker Joel
Let me start by saying Felipe Loza Zepeda will be missed by many exspecially by his parents Jose & Maria and his girlfrien Yanira and there son Marcell. Im the rider in the picture with my brother laid out before me. This was a terrible accident that involved three of my brothers and one of there wives. From what we can tell after all was said and done. The accident seemed to be just that an accident, however there was a white van that was traveling next to us for quite some time not paying attention to the road. He couldnt seem to stay in his own lane. We have know idea if the white van was the cause of the accident! We do know that the white van did in fact run Felipe over. If anybody saw this accident or has more information please contact your local CHP office. Far as the baby goes there was plenty of shade on the side of the freeway! Felipe was a very special part of the Peacemaker M/C and its a loss that has hit all of us very deeply as well. We are setting up a memorial fund on the NBC website to help his family through these tuff times. If anyone would like to donate to this please go to NBC11 website. If you would like to see some pictures of our ride before the fatial accident please vist or memorial to our brother Felipe www.peacemakermc.com.
Rest In Peace
Felipe Loza Zepeda
11/13/78 to 4/11/08
PFFP

The Highway Patrol, Fire/Rescue, and EMT's all did a great job and the best that they could, they arrived surprizingly fast, we tried to do CPR, but Felipe's injury's were too severe. I am very sorry my brother that We/I could not do anything to save you.
I cannot possibly begin to explain just how much those of us that were there, hurt right now for Felipe, Jesse, Penelope and their family.
I also cannot believe how terrible some people are, some really horrible comments were said when they started letting cars drive around the body that I have to wonder, what is this rotting world coming too? I am guessing , these are some of the same people that buy the paper that publish the photo's like the ones on here? So I dont blame the papers, they cater to the customer, I hope you all got a real good look, and I apoligize for the inconvience that was caused you, by injured and dieing PEOPLE while poor you had to sit in your hot car and wait.

First of all, I am not anti cyclist. Not at all. I grew up around bikes. My uncle was one of those guys who turned Harleys into Hogs back in the sixties and seventies and he's the guy who taught me how to ride. He belonged to a club and I used to go out with those guys starting when I was only 16. Those are great memories, but this country is VERY different now than it was then.

I understand your grief very well and I am sorry for your loss but at the same time I'm appalled at the way some of you have attacked the paper's coverage of this tragedy. Believe it or not, the photo that includes the tarp IS NOT distasteful. There are plenty of media outlets in America that would not have been so considerate as to wait to take their picture until after the body was covered. The paper simply got a picture of the accident scene after the tragic details had been cleared away. I commend them for that.

About the accident, if I had my way (and I know this is never actually going to happen) large truck traffic would be banned on 17 between Santa Cruz Ave and Santa Cruz. Not because the truckers are themselves a problem but because the very low limit for the large trucks combined with the grade means that many of them are literally crawling before they make the top of the hill. Combine that with cars going between 70 and 80 mph and it's no wonder there are so many fatal accidents!

But I would also ban bike traffic on all inter city interstates and freeways. I know bikers would complain bitterly about such a ban but the truth is that the volume of car traffic is far too high these days, drivers are too inconsiderate and speeding too much. When you add to that the bikers who are reckless and irresponsible (no, I don't mean your friend necessarily but many many others) I'm amazed there are not more tragedies just like this one. How many times have you seen a biker traveling BETWEEN lanes of traffic and not doing it slowly even? How many times have you seen bikers riding side by side in the same lane? And countless other dangerous practices...It's time the legislature got responsible about highway safety...period. Kindly do not beat up on this little paper or the motorists who had no idea what occurred, are the baby or its mom. I'm sure we all are sorry for your loss. I'm sure we're all tired of accidents such as this one, a terrible tragedy that needn't have happened at all.

While I can understand some of the emotion and arguements in this section;I am ,however inclined to tell you of this man;Felipe;I am a 61 year old Viet nam veit who has had the pleasure of being a member of the Peacemakers for about 6 months.During this time I have had the honor of knowing this young man;a very respensoble person;loving father and a good friend.Never saw this man without a smile or a kind word for anyone.For him to leave us in this manner leaves all who knew him in fog of grief.We are all aware[those who ride]of the dangers involved;however it does NOT lessen our grief.To those who were stuck in the traffic and had things of an unkind nature to say...well you got to live with yourselves.By the way,I find no fault with the reporter;this person,like a lot of us,was trying to understand what happened.To the officers and the emt,s who responded;thank you all very much;we[ThePeacemakers} know you did all you could.To my friend Felipe-God bless you young man;we love and miss you;rest in peace

Donations that are are very much needed and appreciated that will help with the expenses for his funeral, and a trust for his young son can be mailed to:

Checks or Money orders:

'Felipe Loza Memorial Fund'
22273 Victory Dr.
Hayward Calif. 94541

Thank you
(Edited 04/14/08 6:04 pm)
(Edited 04/14/08 7:05 pm)

Thank you to the FEW motorists that ran to our fallen brothers & sisters aid at the accident on Saturday. I was riding with the group & I will never forget the people who did try to help by blocking off traffic or bringing what first aid kits they had with them. There are too few people like that in the world. I was with Felipe when the EMT's had exhausted their efforts & I commend them for their efforts. As far as the yellow tarp...I think someone should think about how tramatic that was for the person who had to actually pull the yellow tarp over their brothers face before something like that is ever posted anywhere again! This will be an image forever burned in my memory. I think it was very insensitive.

Felipe we will forever miss you.
PS. Daniel you're an idiot!
(Edited 04/14/08 11:30 pm)
(Edited 04/14/08 11:40 pm)
(Edited 04/16/08 1:49 pm)

I was one of the motorists waiting to pass this horrible accident. The officers were holding up a tarp so the cars passing by could not see the body in the street. This photo is completely unacceptable in my mind. The loss of this person should be treated with respect not like a carnival side show.

gtmssy, you can't even use a spell checker but you say I'm an idiot? The points I made were all extremely valid and I've yet to see anyone post a rebuttal. Have you never seen the dead and dying on the evening news? War footage for example? They don't always bother to wait until the bodies are covered. I think you people are getting hysterical over not much. Certainly there are no grounds to accuse the paper of "insensitivity" I think some of you owe the paper an apology.

This story covered the news well. Accidents happen all the time without any coverage of the persons involved. My brother was killed on his Harley five years ago this 4th of July.
There was no coverage of his death as there was little understanding of what happened.
Stuff happens! It will not change the sad facts.
If there had been no coverage some of you would be complaining about no one cared to report it.
In my opinion you should stop complaining about the coverage of your loss, and start focusing on your grieving and caring for his family.

I couldn

Motoair thanks for the rational statement. I'm glad someone else finally agreed with me that it was time to stop knocking the paper's coverage of this.

I also respect that you gave a reason for disagreeing with me. It's a free country is a valid reason to dislike the idea of even more traffic laws, etc. I wish I knew of a better way to cut down on the carnage but I don't. I don't think a philosophical answer really does it though. I remember an incident in New York where a biker caused an multi-car accident in which among others an infant was killed. I don't think there's anything very karmic about that. The biker was taking the risk yeah but what about the ones who get in the way?

I Got A Call at 8:17 On Saturday Night With The Horrible News That My Friend Felipe Was No Longer With Us....It Has Been A While Since We Last Saw EachOther But When I'd See Shawn Or Manuel Or Jesse I Would Ask Hows Felipe! And It Was Always Good To Here That You Were Doin Good. When I Heard You Got Your Harley I was Like God Damn! Wish I Was Out Their Ridein With You I Know The Feelin And Man Its A Good One . When Billyb Said Never Saw This Man WithOut A Smile You Got That Right Every Time I would See Him He'd Always Put A Smile On My Face Even If I was Mad Or Pissed Off It Didnt Matter I always Found Myself enjoying The Moment. You Will Truly Be Missed Felipe! YOU LEFT US TO DAMN FAST MAN!! DAMN..... My Heart Goes Out To Your Family Brother And To All Who Knew Him We All Will Miss Him. Life Is Is To Short And When You Hop On That Bike Or Get In That Car Tell Your LoveOnes You LOVE EM you Never Know You Might Not Ever See Them Again GodBless You Felipe! If You See My Dad Up Their HUG HIM FOR ME BRO I miss Him Down Here.[[[[[[RIP Felipe]]]]] SNOOP!!!!!!!!

This group of "Peacemakers" came in to my local Santa Cruz pub, just prior to making their journey back to the east bay. I believe Felipe was the man who was very excited to see the foosball table and proceeded to play with his friends. These men and women were friendly, respectful and responsible. I would've never guessed that one of them would walk out of the pub and die that day. It was chilling to read the Sunday news the next morning. I am terribly sorry for the loss of your friend, father, husband and family member. Many healing blessings to you all. Shame on the intolerant people, with a lack of compassion, who have commented here. Perhaps they don't realize that any one of us could die today.

This is a news story about a well loved young man who died, some of us were with him when he passed, some of the family he left behind has read and posted on here, its not about the quality of the newspaper, the reporter who wrote it, nor the trafic jam, and get this Daniel, it is NOT about grammer and spell checking. Daniel, what is wrong with you? You want respect for your opinion, yet you show zero respect for anyone else's opinion, or anyone else period. The person you were 'argueing' with, about which one of you 2 were the 'idiot' and called 'hysterical' was also the person who pulled that yellow tarp in the pictures over Felipe's face after giving him a kiss. So guess who's way ahead in the 'idiot' race?
Daniel, Please stop posting on this article, everyone got your point, you do not have to continue to validate that you have some major mental issues that you really should get some help with. Coming onto a website about something like this and trying to 'Bait' some of the griefing into arguments for your own amusement or to get some attention is really sick. I can see now why you like looking at war pictures and pictures of bodies etc. and you are all over this story. After you are done checking my grammer and spelling Daniel, please..... gfy.

(Edited 04/16/08 8:00 am)
(Edited 04/16/08 8:02 am)

This will be the last post I make on this thread.

I have said before that I

To Daniel-
What a presumptious, blaming statement to make. As I said in my previous post...this group of riders were friendly, respectful and responsible! They were in no way compromised! How dare you even hint at suggesting they may be to blame for what happened. [Ad hominem comments deleted.--Ed.] I suggest you act more compassionately, or be willing to reep what you sow!
(Edited 04/16/08 11:11 am)

karma ain't got nothing to do with it-

Groups at Risk

* Male drivers involved in fatal motor vehicle crashes are almost twice as likely as female drivers to be intoxicated with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.08% or greater (NHTSA 2006). It is illegal to drive with a BAC of 0.08% or higher in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

* At all levels of blood alcohol concentration, the risk of being involved in a crash is greater for young people than for older people (Zador et al. 2000). In 2005, 16% of drivers ages 16 to 20 who died in motor vehicle crashes had been drinking alcohol (NHTSA 2006).

* Young men ages 18 to 20 (under the legal drinking age) reported driving while impaired more frequently than any other age group (Shults et al. 2002, Quinlan et al. 2005).

* Among motorcycle drivers killed in fatal crashes, 30% have BACs of 0.08% or greater (Paulozzi et al. 2004).

Alcohol and driving don't mix, agreed. But we don't know what caused this tragic accident and there is no evidence that anyone involved had been drinking, or was talking on a cell phone, for that matter. We don't know, period.

As the reporter for this story, I want to sincerely apologize to anyone who was offended by the photographs of the accident scene, but I stand behind the decision to print them. What I find truly offensive is that Mr. Loza was suddenly taken from his family and friends. I never knew him, but I will never forget him.

I'd just like to add a note of clarification. I was not implying this man was drunk. My point was that even one beer affects a person's reaction time. Even one. Was it a factor in the accident? I don't know. Is it likely? Statistic say it is. My opinion? I personally do not consider it responsible to climb on a bike after having a beer. There is no margin for error when you're on a bike in a freeway full of cars. I'm not saying he had a beer. I'm saying if he did then he had a share in this. I'm not saying he caused the accident only that he might have avoided it.

And a side note to Mr. Dallas: Thanks for having my back. I know you have to remain neutral but really you couldn't step up just a little?

No one ever said this man had a beer. To my knowledge from being at the pub, sitting at the bar and speaking with the bartender, the majority of this group, if not all, with the exception of the female passengers, refrained from having alcohol. It seems sad to me that people are so willing/needing to place blame for a very tragic event. Please be more mindful of all the people who are impacted by this death.

As an erstwhile Santa Cruz and Bay Area resident, have only too much experience with beach traffic going over the hill in both directions on motorcycles.

In fact, I recall lane-splitting all the way from Scotts Valley to Los Gatos on my 1975 Shovelhead back in 1978 as traffic was horrendous even back then.

Timing is everything. Depart early enough in the morning to Santa Cruz, and leave early enough for home before congestion becomes a major inconvenience *or* take alternative routes back.

Out here in Boise, ID we have a comparable situation on SH-55 (Payette River Scenic Byway) to McCall on Fridays, and back on Sundays. Very popular road for motorcyclists, but it doesn't have anywhere near nowhere the level of traffic between Los Gatos and Santa Cruz.

My deepest condolences to the Peacemaker family and friends over this tragic loss.
(Edited 04/16/08 2:21 pm)

Felipe we will miss you. Thank you everyone that is writing about this article. It truly nice that people that did not know Felipe, is taken the time out for Felipe. He was a great friend, brother, father, boyfriend, and family member to alot of people.

I am a wife to one of the Peacemaker's, I think that "Daniel" is a **. I don't think that you have a heart for others, but yourself. It ok to have an opinion, but like the saying go" opinion are like **, everybody has one.
RIP Felipe!!!!We love you!
"THE WIFE OF A BIKER"
(Edited 04/16/08 1:30 pm)
(Edited 04/16/08 2:15 pm)

Daniel,

Using a spell checker or being grammatically correct is no guarantee that you're smarter or that you're more worthy than someone else.

Your continued pontifications and judgments were heartless and inflammatory, and, by the way, also contained grammar and spelling errors. I guess we can all ignore your opinions and your self-described "extremely valid" points now, based on your own prescribed judgment system.

I am so very sorry Felipe is no longer with us and my heart goes out to his whole family. This is a horrible tragedy.

Wow!
I came back tonight to see the uplifting stories of a good man.
What do I see? An incredible amount of accusations, statistics, and name calling I have to wonder does any of this serve any real purpose.

If it was me, and I had the ability to look at this sting I know some of it wouldn

Well Daniel, after 1 extra 'last post' on the matter', You claim to know what and how many everyone was drinking. I had a red bull fyi, cause it was a long day, and I wanted to be alert for the ride home, I am not the only one in our group that red bull was the drink of choice, Phil had a coke, and George was one of 2 water drinkers that I know of, I failed to go around and do a breathalizer test on everyone else, my bad, I left the barkeep a nice tip to make up for our lack of buisness we brought them, But not only am I willing to bet at this point however much you can afford, that not only will you post at least 1 more time for the 'last time', but that you also are more than capable of sticking your 'other' foot into your mouth and still have room left for a thrid.

I can think of at least 12 people that were on that road at that time, that would of jumped at the chance to trade places with the inconvienced other motorist's you are reffering too. Get a clue dude.

Phil, I am so honored to have ridden with you, and I will think about you everytime I am in the wind for the rest of my life. I hope you will allow me to ride with you again when its my time.
(Edited 04/16/08 10:02 pm)

Felipe we all will miss you SO MUCH !!!
you were a great father, husband, son, uncle, bother, and friend.

RIP FELIPE
WE LOVE YOU!
(Edited 04/17/08 7:01 pm)

Thank you "Motoair"! I have been sitting back reading all the posts since my initial comment. Let me tell you about Felipe & the day! He always had a smile, he never had a harsh word. He would always translate the spanish songs for me, just like his Uncle Frankie would. I will miss that. As far as the day goes...it was a perfect day. We rode slow drank very little. (some of us not at all)I took pictures of everyone enjoying the sun and the beach. We made stops along the way to places I had never been & from what I understand Felipe hadn't either. It was just a perfect day for a perfect ride. I find myself now reflecting on the positive & trying to put all the horrible images in my head in it's place to reflect on in private when need be. This weekend we lay our friend to rest way before his time & it will be difficult. Let us all try to reflect on the wonders of that day before the tragedy took place and all the positive things about Phil. That's how Frankie & Phil would have wanted it! Here's to you both, til' we meet again! I will miss you
(P.S. To see pics of our day go to peacemakermc.com)
(Edited 04/17/08 12:55 pm)

HI, ITS ANA AGAIN.
FELIPE, YOUR SO TRULY MISSED.
I JUST WANTED TO STOP BY AND LET YOU KNOW THAT WE ALL MISS YOU. IM GLAD YOU HAD A BEAUTIFUL LAST DAY. IM JUST SADDEN THAT IT WASNT SPENT WITH YANIRA AND MARCEL. BUT I GUESS ITS OK B/C YOU SPENT EVERY OTHER DAY WITH THEM.

YANIRA, THE BABY & MYSELF WENT TO VISIT JESSIE (CHUITO, THE INJURED MOTORIST) IN THE AFTERNOON. HES DOING GOOD. WE'RE ALL GLAD. WELL I JUST WANTED TO SEND YOU ALL OUR LOVE.

WE'LL SEE YOU SOON.
LOVE "ANII" (YANIRAS FAVORITE COUSIN)

P.S.
I PROMISE ILL TAKE CARE OF "NIRA" AND "MARCELINO". ILL DO EVERYTHING IN MY POWER TO MAKE SURE THEY'RE BOTH TOOKEN CARE OF.
NO GOOD BYES, ILL SEE YOU LATER

Donations have been far and few between for this already very taxed family that could use some help. If You can, please...

Felipe Loza Memorial Fund
22273 Victory Dr.
Hayward, Ca. 94541

I have been a recovery driver for 14 years now, I am one of few women in this aspect of traffic operations support and collision recovery. I am also a mother of two boys, ages 12 and 7. I think it sucks that as the fatality rates continue to rise, as does the level of ignorance of drivers. We as a society are quick to jump on the media for their "sensationalist" photo journalism, and the way they document tragedies. I agree in some cases. I have thrown a nose breaking swing at a cameraman myself, twice. However his feed to the news station was live and there were twin 2 year old babies scattered along the pavement. I covered what I could with my two "DOA blankets" as well as my own cert jacket. The cameraman was talking about getting a fortune of "hits" on Youtube for the footage. That is not only grounds for, criminal charges, a broken nose, and termination from employment, but it sensationalist morbidity not to mention a serious disregard for those involved, related to those involved, and the average Joe sitting at home watching the news or surfing the net. Let me add, Average Joe is the one I hear the most complaining from. Both before and after they crash.
I would like to commend the crew who documented this tragic and devastating incident. In my opinion the media has an obligation to serve the community from more than just an informed perspective telling a story. More importantly to educate the public on how to protect themselves and their loved ones.
So to those of you who think these photos and their public posting really sucks. I would like to redirect your thoughts, to reality where john & Jane Q Society drive too fast, talking on their cell phones, drink lattes, while searching for a CD under the dash in rush hour (or any for that matter) traffic, desperately trying to avoid being late to the ever so important board meeting or hair appointment.
Be grateful that today you, your family and friends are merely reading of this tragic event, rather than being the lifeless body under the tarp. I would bet my seat belt that these images increased your awareness, forcing you out of your self centered idealistic cloud of ignorance for just a moment, the next time you put the keys in the ignition.
My thoughts and prayers go out to all of you who have lived this reality, I honor those who's lives are taken on the roads everyday. I honor them by leaving a little earlier, driving a little slower, taking a second look before pulling out in to traffic, by wearing my seat belt EVERY TIME I start my engine, and by taking the time to educate my community through the tragedies I respond too everyday. When duty calls I answer but not before stopping for a second and remembering how destructive my ego is when behind the wheel of a 17,000 lb truck.
Thank You
Scout

I was one of those friends who was with Felipe that day, Thanks to all that commented, all opinions are respected, But it still does not take away from the most important issue here, Felipes young son who is left behind without a daddy, I am the sponsor for the memorial fund that was at first, set up to help the family with funeral expenses. A grand total of $60 was sent by all you with so strong an opinion, with $50 of it coming from close friends. The Memorial fund will remain open to donations that will now go towards a trust fund for Felipe's son, If you would like to send and help, It can be mailed to: New address:
Felipe Loza Memorial Fund
15867 Corte Mariana
San Lorenzo, Calif. 94580

or a direct deposit can be made at any Bank of America branch using the name of the memorial fund, Thank you once again.