Chicago Motorcyclist dies in accident on Racine exit ramp
A Chicago man dies in a motorcycle crash late Saturday on the Racine Avenue exit ramp of the Kennedy Expressway, police said.
Edward Massas, 33 of the 800 block of West Adams Street was thrown from his motorcycle after losing control at 700 N. Racine about 11:30 p.m. No other vehicles were involved, police said. Massas was not wearing a helmet, according the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
The cause is under investigation.
The State-of-Illinois does not legally require motorcyclists to wear a helmet when operating a motorcycle.
According to a study by Jeffrey Coben, M.D., a researcher at West Virginia University, states that do not require motorcycle riders and passengers to wear helmets may be contributing to the unnecessary deaths, hospitalizations, and long-term disabilities.
Traffic deaths last year reached the highest level since 1990, due to an increase in motorcycle and pedestrian fatalities. Motorcycle deaths rose for an eighth straight year.
