[NEWS] Packs of motorcycles swarming St. Louis area highways

Packs of motorcycles swarming St. Louis area highways

BY JENNIFER MANN • jmann@post-dispatch.com > 314-340-8315 | Posted: Saturday, September 17, 2011 3:44 pm

ST. LOUIS • Drivers have reported huge packs of motorcycles swarming the highways around St. Louis, with the bikers pulling stunts, making hand gestures and forcing cars off the roadway.

There has been no official word yet from the state highway patrol or other public safety officials.

The reports started coming in around 2 p.m. from various spots on I-270 and I-70, most recently in the north St. Louis county area. Some claimed to see as many as 800 to 1,000 motorcycles in a pack.

There has been at least one major accident, which resulted in serious injuries and forced the closure of I-270 near New Halls Ferry Road. The injured were flown to an area hospital, according to the state highway patrol. No further details are known at this time.

Brian Johnson of St. Louis said he was heading on I-170 north to Lambert International Airport with his wife when he saw the pack of motorcycles on the other side of the highway.

"There was a good half mile stretch where it was 20 bikes wide the whole highway," he said. "It was hundreds after hundreds after hundreds of bikes."

Johnson said the bikers were not your typical Harley Davidson types; most were wearing racing suits and riding speed bikes like you would see in stunt shows.

He said the first group of bikers were pumping their fists; the second group created a ringlike formation and had bikers riding down the middle doing wheelies.

Johnson said cars were forced over to the shoulder of the road and trying to get off. There were also traffic tie-ups on his side of the highway as drivers slowed to gawk at the spectacle.

"When they were out around the other cars it was dangerous," he said. "When they took over the entire highway it was like being in a motorcycle show."

Some comments that stood out on the discussion tab at the original source link:

I was in traffic when these "pack riders" came by. I just got out of their way and all was good. Even got a few good pictures. I saw some people on cars getting upset and swerving into them on porpoise as if they were going to run over a biker. What's up with that? Just let them pass. This is a free country, you are free to go to what ever church you want, free to own a gun, free to have more that 2 children and free to ride your motorcycles down the road in a group. How about the STL cops provide rolling road blocks for this event given it is so big?

Ride of the Century! If it happens every year wouldn't it be Ride of the Year? I guess crotch rocket a holes can't think in those terms.

I used to be a medic in north county and picked up a few hammerheads on their bikes. I never saw anyone give these halfwits an ounce of empathy when they crash... karma's a ####.