A man died while riding his motorcycle … during a protest against helmet laws near Syracuse, New York, this week. His bike flipped and he hit his head on the pavement and died.
The 55-year-old motorcyclist — Philip Contos of Parish, New York — was driving his 1983 Harley Davidson with a group of bikers who were protesting a law requiring motorcyclists to wear helmets. Police say Contos’s bike spun out of control after braking and Contos fell over the handlebars.
New York is one of 20 states that require all motorcycle riders to wear helmets. Troopers said afterward that Contos would have likely survived if he had been wearing a helmet.