Here are 7 of history's most famous motorcycle accidents.
Little did they know that their two-wheeled rides would have such fatal consequences.
Number 7: Steven Stayner Steven Stayner was a well known American kidnap
victim who initially made national headlines in the early 1980s.
In 1972, at the age of 7, Steven was abducted by child-molester Kenneth Parnell and was
forced to stay with him for over 7 years.
He eventually managed to escape in 1980 with Timmy White, a 5 year old boy who Parnell
had kidnapped recently, and together they went to the police.
Parnell was arrested and both children were reunited with their families.
Steven had trouble readjusting with his real family and was often teased by other kids
at school for being molested.
He eventually dropped out, drank heavily, and got kicked out of his home.
He later got married, had kids, and worked with child abduction groups.
But the tragic part of Steven's story was not over.
On the afternoon of September 17, 1989, Steven was on his way home from work on his motorcycle.
It was raining, and the slippery road caused him to collide with a car.
He died shortly afterwards at the hospital, having sustained severe head injuries.
At Steven's funeral, one of his pallbearers was 14 year old Timothy White, the boy who
he helped escape 9 years earlier.
Number 6: Don Rich Donald Eugene Ulrich, otherwise known by his
stage name Don Rich, was a famous American country musician.
He was noted as a skilled guitarist and fiddler from an early age, and at 16 he opened for
Elvis Presley at the Tacoma Lincoln Bowl in 1957.
After a year of college, Rich dropped out and joined Buck Owens in his tours and records,
eventually forming "The Buckaroos"; the band responsible for creating the signature "Bakersfield
sound" of the early 60s country music scene.
Owens and Rich experimented a lot with their music, and scored number 1 hits repeatedly
between 1966 and 1972.
But their enormous success of this turnaround was cut short because of a tragedy on July
17, 1974.
After finishing work that day at the recording studio in Bakersfield, Rich mounted his motorcycle
and headed to the central coast of California, where he was to join his relatives for a family
vacation.
For unclear reasons, his motorcycle hit a center divider at the highway, causing him
to crash.
Rich was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital.
Mysteriously, investigations revealed that there were no skid marks, no mechanical problems,
or other apparent factors that would have contributed to the crash.
The cause of the accident still remains unknown to this day.
Buck Owens was devastated by the death of his band mate, and for years refused to openly
discuss about it.
He had reportedly been pleading for Rich to quit riding for years, and had asked him not
to take his motorcycle on the day of the crash.
Number 5: Luc Bourdon Joseph Luc Bourdon was a Canadian professional
ice hockey player who played for the NHL's Vancouver Canucks and their AHL affiliate,
the Manitoba Moose.
During his childhood, he was diagnosed with juvenile arthritis and became wheelchair bound.
However, he managed to overcome his medical condition, and played in local minor ice hockey
teams before eventually turning professional at the age of 16.
Internationally, Bourdon represented Canada and contributed to his national team winning
two World Junior Championships in a row in 2006 and 2007.
Sadly, the young player's promising career and life was cut short because of a tragedy
that happened near his hometown of Shippagan in 2008.
Bourdon had just picked up a new hobby, motorcycling, and had just acquired his motorcycle license.
On May 29, 2008, he went for a ride on his recently purchased Suzuki GSX-R1000.
For some reason, he lost control and crossed the road's centre line, hitting a transport
truck.
Canada's Environmental Department noted that strong gusts of winds over 31 miles per hour
were blowing in the area at the time, which might have contributed to the crash and death
of Luc Bourdon.
He was 21 years old.
Bourdon's death was seen as a great loss for his teammates.
Manitoba Moose players wore "LB" patches all season, while Team Canada did the same during
the 2009 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships - which they managed to win.
Number 4: Diego "Chico" Corrales Diego "Chico" Corrales was an American boxer
who competed professionally from 1996 to 2007.
He was a multiple-time world champion, winning titles in both the super feather weight and
lightweight divisions.
His legendary fight against Jose Luis Castillo on May 7, 2005, for which he and his rival
received "Fight of the Year" honors by The Ring and the Boxing Writers Association of
America.
It was a unification bout between two lightweight champions - Corrales held the WBO title, while
Castillo held the WBC title.
The two contenders traded brutal punches all the way to the 10th round, where Corrales
was knocked down twice.
However, Corrales somehow managed to get back on his feet and produce one of the greatest
comebacks ever seen in the sport, landing numerous punches on his opponents, causing
the referee to declare him the winner.
On May 7, 2007, exactly two years after his fight with Castillo, Corrales met his end
in a three vehicle accident.
He was riding a 2007 Suzuki GSXR 1000 motorcycle near his home in Las Vegas, and crashed into
the back of a vehicle that he was trying to pass.
He was sent flying into the air and was then struck by an incoming vehicle.
Corrales was rushed to the hospital in an ambulance but was pronounced dead on arrival,
on the same day of the legendary bout that he won two years earlier.
Number 3: Berry Mannakee The British royal family has always made headlines,
sometimes for bad reasons.
The past few generations of the House of Windsor have had their fair share of scandals - from
affairs to divorces, and even a king renouncing his throne.
Towards the end of the twentieth century, the troubled relationship between Prince Charles
and Princess Diana remained the object of worldwide media scrutiny even after their
divorce, culminating in the fatal car crash in Paris in 1997 which ended Diana's life.
A decade before that, a traffic collision involving Berry Mannakee, Diana's bodyguard,
had taken place in London in 1987.
While the two separate events are publicly referred to as accidents, many believe they
are actually part of one large conspiracy perpetrated by British Intelligence.
Berry Mannakee was a police officer with the Royal Protection Squad who was assigned as
bodyguard to Diana in 1985.
The two eventually developed a close friendship, and there were rumors of them having an affair.
Berry was soon moved from his royal protection duties to diplomatic protection.
According to Diana, he was "chucked out".
In 1987, Berry was riding as a pillion passenger behind a fellow policeman on a Suzuki motorcycle
in London.
A 17 year old teenager driving a Ford Fiesta nearby was dazzled by bright lights coming
from an unknown car, which caused him to accidentally crash into the motorcycle carrying Berry,
killing the police officer.
The incident was ruled as accidental death, while the car with bright lights, which contributed
to the crash could not be traced.
Diana maintained that the tragedy was not an accident and that Berry was murdered because
he "knew too much", even admitting that they were both in love with each other.
Number 2: Duane Allman and Berry Oakley Duane Allman aka "Skydog" was an American
guitarist and leader to the Allman Brothers Band, which he co-founded with his brother
Gregg in 1969.
The band had great success in the early 70s, with their "At Filmore East" album being widely
considered as one of the greatest live albums in rock music.
Duane himself is particularly recognized as a great guitarist, famous for his inventive
improvisational skills and expressive slide play.
In 2003, Rolling Stone magazine ranked him number 2 in their list of 100 greatest guitarists
of all time, placing him behind Jimi Hendrix.
But just months after the Allman Brothers' initial success with the release of "At Filmore
East", tragedy struck.
On October 29, 1971, while the band was on a break from recording and touring, Duane
was riding his Harley Davidson Sportster motorcycle at high speed on a road in Macon, Georgia.
When a flatbed truck carrying a huge crane stopped suddenly at an intersection, Duane
swerved sharply out of the way but still struck the vehicle and was knocked off his Harley,
which shot up in the air and landed on his chest.
With its owner pinned beneath it, the 550 pound motorcycle skidded another 90 feet before
stopping along the curb.
Duane suffered massive internal injuries, but was still alive.
He died several hours later in surgery at the hospital.
After Duane's funeral and some weeks of mourning, the five surviving members of the Allman Brothers
Band carried on their work.
In an eerie twist of fate, Berry Oakley - the band's bassist - shared a similar fate with
Duane almost a year later.
On November 11, 1972, only a few blocks from where his fellow band member crashed, Berry
took a sharp turn on his Triumph motorcycle and hit the back of a city bus.
He was thrown off his ride, like Duane, and hit his head.
He remained conscious and caught a ride home, declining medical treatment.
But Berry had in fact fractured his skull, and was rushed to the hospital three hours
later in pain and delirium.
He died of cerebral swelling, with the doctors noting that he would have been saved had he
immediately went to the hospital following his accident.
Number 1: TE Lawrence TE Lawrence is known worldwide by his nickname
"Lawrence of Arabia".
A British archeologist, diplomat, and military officer, he became famous for his exploits
in the Middle East during World War 1.
He managed to persuade local Arabian tribes to cooperate with the British Army against
the Ottoman Empire, and even fought alongside the desert Bedouins during the Arab Revolt.
The breadth and great variety of his activities earned him international fame, and his wartime
exploits were depicted in the 1962 film "Lawrence of Arabia" - which is considered by many as
one of the greatest and most influential films of all time.
After having avoiding death in numerous battles throughout the war, Lawrence ended up meeting
his end in a tragic road accident at home.
In 1935, just two months after leaving military service, Lawrence was riding his Brough Superior
SS100 motorcycle near his cottage in South West England.
A dip in the road caused him to not see two boys on their bicycles, and he swerved just
in time to avoid them, but lost control of his vehicle and got thrown over the handlebars.
He was not wearing a helmet and suffered serious traumatic head injuries that left him in a
coma.
He died six days later at the hospital, at the age of 46.
The site of his crash is marked by a small memorial at the side of the road.
One of the doctors treating Lawrence was the neurosurgeon Hugh Cairns, who consequently
conducted a study centered around the unnecessary deaths of motorcyclists through head injuries.
His research eventually led to the use of crash helmets by motorcycle riders, saving
the lives of many.
Lawrence's privately owned SS100 motorcycle has been loaned and displayed in the UK's
Imperial War Museum and National Motor Museum.