Jimmie “Tank” Haggadone loved riding his motorcycle.

Always a cautious driver, Haggadone found great pleasure and a sense of freedom cruising along the roadway, recalled his wife, Lake Orion resident Lois Haggadone. “Occasionally, I’d go with him, and we’d go to dinner or lunch…but mostly he’d go out for a joy ride or to visit his buddies.”

And, she added, he’d assure her that he was “not going to get hurt.”

On May 1, Lois Haggadone lost her beloved husband of 42 years when he was killed in a traffic crash in Oxford Township. The father of four, grandfather of nine and great-grandfather of two, Jimmie Haggadone was 66.

His death is among the 10 so far attributed to motorcycle-related traffic crashes in Oakland County as of Aug. 9 — double the five fatalities for all of 2023.

In Haggadone’s case, according to the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office, the crash happened when 54-year-old Adnan Ali Eltopji, driving a Toyota Corolla, turned into the path of Haggadone’s motorcycle on North Lapeer Road near Oakwood Road.

Eltopjii reportedly failed to come to a complete stop at the intersection’s flashing red signal. Haggadone was ejected from his motorcycle; first responders called to the scene transported him to an area hospital where he died. Lois Haggadone calls it “her nightmare.”

“I got that visit from a police officer — that knock on the door that everyone dreads,” she said. “I was always afraid of that.”

It was Jimmie Haggadone’s first and only motorcycle crash in the several decades he’d been riding, Lois Haggadone noted.

The past three and a half months haven’t been easy for her as she learns to live without the man she married when she was just 18 years old. “It’s hard getting used to him not being here, I constantly am looking for him,” she said.

Yet she’s buoyed by her religious faith in knowing “he’s in the arms of Jesus,” Lois Haggadone said. “That gives me a lot of comfort.”

And while tragedy struck May 1, she expressed no bitterness for the pastime her husband delighted in. “People who ride motorcycles have so much love, so much joy for them,” she said. “Most people can’t understand that love for motorcycles, that love for the open road.”

‘People need to slow down’

Oakland County’s overall motorcycle crashes are also trending upward compared to those that happened last year. So far in 2024, 161 crashes with 111 nonfatal-related injuries have been reported as of Aug. 9; in 2023, the county had 284 motorcycle-related crashes, where 225 people were hurt.

Statewide in 2023, according to MSP, 165 people died in 164 motorcycle-related crashes. That was a 5% decrease from 2022, when 173 people were killed. Two other drivers, two passengers and a pedestrian were also fatally injured in a motorcycle crash last year.

Other statistics from Michigan’s 2023 motorcycle crashes:

• 93% of victims were males

• The highest number of crashes occurred in June

• Saturdays had majority of crashes

• Most occurred between 3 p.m. and 5:59 p.m.

Of those who died in motorcycle crashes last year, investigators determined helmets had been worn in 75 of the fatalities, no helmets were worn in 72 of the fatalities, and for the remaining 18 it was undetermined.

Lois Haggadone said her husband never rode his motorcycle without wearing a helmet. And he was no stranger to the road beyond motorcycling, having been a professional gravel hauler for 35 years before retiring, she said.

She also said it’s ironic that her husband died on May 1, which is the start of National Motorcycle Crash Awareness Month. “That’s something, I think,” Lois Haggadone said.

The intersection where her husband died has been the site of other fatalities, she added. After he was killed, the Haggadone family set up a cross and sign as a memorial — and to help make others beware of motorcycle crashes, she said. She also wants all drivers to watch their speed.

“People need to slow down — slow down and be cautious,” she said. “And always give that second look.”

The driver who allegedly hit Jimmie Haggadone is charged with a moving violation causing death, a misdemeanor punishable by up to a $2,000 fine and/or one year in jail. He’s due back in court next week.

Lois Haggadone said she was “shocked” to learn the relatively light consequence for the person who is accused of causing her husband’s death.

“For somebody’s life, $2,000 isn’t anything,” she said. “And while jail time would be pretty bad, maybe if the fine was $10,000…(monetary punishment) gets to people.

“But I don’t really know anything about (Eltopji) — is he struggling with what happened or what? Is he a ‘bad guy’ with a criminal history? I just don’t know, and can’t really find anything out about him,” she said.

More information could be revealed at next week’s court hearing, she noted.

Oakland County’s fatal crashes

According to law enforcement, Oakland County’s fatal crashes involving motorcycles so far in 2024 include:

• On July 20, a 39-year-old Waterford Township man reportedly failed to negotiate a curve on Woodward Avenue in Pontiac, ran off the road and was thrown from his vehicle into a sign. He was transported to an area hospital where he died from his injuries. He wasn’t wearing a helmet at the time of the crash.

• On July 18, a 41-year-old Clarkston motorcyclist died at an area hospital after he was hit by another vehicle on Telegraph Road near 12 Mile Road in Southfield. Emergency responders called to the scene shortly before 6:30 p.m. found the man lying in the roadway. It’s believed he was hit by a vehicle that entered Telegraph from a turnaround.

• On July 6, a 42-year-old Waterford man died from injuries sustained in a crash on Sashabaw Road near Fowler Drive in Independence Township. Emergency responders were called to the scene at approximately 11 p.m. after the man drove his motorcycle over the centerline, sideswiped a Jeep Compass and then was struck by another vehicle. The motorcyclist reportedly failed to negotiate a curve on Sashabaw Road, resulting in the crash. The victim was wearing a helmet.

• On June 18, a 32-year-old Redford Township man was killed when his motorcycle collided with a Ford Explorer at the intersection of Eight Mile road and Grand River Avenue in Farmington Hills. He wasn’t wearing a helmet at the time of the collision.

• On June 16, a 40-year-old motorcyclist from Wixom was hit by a minivan while waiting to turn left from northbound Wixom Road onto Stratford Villa Way in Commerce Township.. He died eight days later from injuries sustained in the crash. His wife was a passenger on the motorcycle and was also injured. Neither the motorcyclist nor his wife were wearing helmets at the time of the crash.

• On June 14, a 60-year-old Orion Township motorcyclist was killed after colliding with a car that had turned in front of him in Brandon Township. The motorcyclist was not wearing a helmet. His passenger, a 12-year-old identified as his grandson, was wearing a helmet and survived.

• On May 16, a 57-year-old Saginaw man was killed after colliding with a car that turned in front of him in Commerce Township. He was not wearing a helmet.

• On May 1, a 66-year-old Orion Township man was killed when his motorcycle collided with a car in Oxford Township. The sheriff’s office said it wasn’t known if he was wearing a helmet, but his wife assured The Oakland Press that he never rode without wearing one.

• On April 14, a 59-year-old Oxford man died after losing control of his motorcycle on Ormond Road near Jackson Boulevard in White Lake Township. The crash was reported shortly after 7:00 p.m. No cars or trucks were involved in the crash, based on witness statements to police.

• Other case: The Michigan State Police Traffic Crash Reporting Unit said MSP troopers responded to a fatal motorcycle crash this year in Oakland County, but wouldn’t provide any other information. Attempts by The Oakland Press to obtain details were unsuccessful by press time.

Staying safe

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, per vehicle miles traveled in 2022, motorcyclists were approximately 22 times more likely to die in a motor vehicle crash and four times more likely to be injured compared to those in other passenger vehicles.

So what measures can one take to possibly increase motorcyclists’ safety?

NHTSA urges all drivers to share the road, obey traffic laws and remain alert — and recommends the following for motorcyclists:

• Make yourself visible

• Practice good judgment, coordination and balance

• Wear a DOT-compliant helmet

• Know your motorcycle, and make sure you can handle it in a variety of weather, road and traffic conditions

• Always be sober when riding

• Before every ride, check your motorcycle’s tire pressure, brakes, lights, fluid levels, etc. and make necessary adjustments for passengers and cargo

• Be properly licensed

Proper licensing requires a motorcycle endorsement in addition to an operator’s (driver’s) license. The endorsement is awarded after achieving a passing score on written and road skills tests.

‘Constant awareness, defensive driving’

In Michigan, those who fail motorcycle endorsement tests twice — and everyone under 18 seeking motorcycle endorsement — are required to take a motorcycle safety class, said certified motorcycle rider, safety coach and trainer Vince Consiglio.

Consiglio, a Milford Township resident, found his love for riding motorcycles more than 50 years ago, and has taught motorcycle safety classes since the early 1980s. He’s also a regional coordinator for classes where he “teaches the teachers,” past president of the nonprofit organization ABATE of Michigan, Inc. (American Bikers Aiming Toward Education) and a driver education instructor.

“Constant awareness, defensive driving, and predicting what other drivers will do” are key to motorcycle safety on the road, he said.

“Ninety percent of (motorcycle) accidents could be avoided with awareness and technique,” Consiglio said. Safety courses teach a number of those techniques including braking skills, counter steering and other maneuvers to avoid other vehicles, potholes and deer, he said.

“Your best protection is maneuvering — and it must all be practiced enough to be second nature,” he said.

Motorcyclists typically fare best when they separate from other vehicle traffic; and anticipating what another driver may do and being prepared to react accordingly is also vitally important, he said.

“Sometimes, (other drivers) come over without looking and don’t even know you’re there,” he said. “And the number one (issue) is when a driver turns left in front of a motorcycle. So when (a motorcyclist) sees up ahead a driver getting ready to do that, do some type of movement if you can with your motorcycle, like go into the right lane if it’s available. That’s just one example.”

To other passenger vehicle drivers, he asks them to “give us our chance.”

“If you see a motorcycle coming, don’t turn. Give the motorcycle the opportunity to go through the intersection first before making that left-hand turn,” he said.

Also, he said, “give us our space. Drivers get way too close to (motorcycles). The further away from traffic, the safer you are.”

Consiglio recalled his worst motorcycle crash, which happened in the early years of his riding. “I was hit by a dump truck in 1974. I was injured, but fortunately the bike got the worst of it,” he said.

Consiglio said he logs about 20,000 miles on his motorcycles every year, and takes extended, several-thousand mile road trips every three years or so; his next one is happening in a few days when he heads off to Arizona. Mostly, he rides solo.

“What do I like about it? On the road, it’s freedom — you’re out in the open,” he said.

Being constantly ready for potential hazards can be a challenge, but that is what it’s all about, Consiglio said.

“You have to enjoy it,” he said. “I tell people, if you don’t enjoy it — if the hazards are too much — do something else. It’s fun, but you have to be aware.”

And yes, he’s known some who’ve lost their lives or have been hurt but survived motorcycle crashes, though none recently.

“A lot of people who have bad accidents give it up, and that’s understandable. It’s traumatic,” Consiglio said. “Some decide it’s just too dangerous, but some come back a couple years later. They’ve been doing it a long time, and after being away from it for a while are ready to go again.”