Monterey Tunnel Rider was a Hayabusa...

[RidersNation]

Sad very sad I guess we all here are a bit like this
Sister says motorcycle crash victim had 'need for speed'

By CLARISSA ALJENTERA

Herald Staff Writer


Relatives of Rey Barajas remember times when he would run around making car noises so often they had to tell him to settle down.

Barajas, 29, suffered fatal injuries on Tuesday in a motorcycle accident in Monterey coming out of the tunnel onto Lighthouse Avenue.

Barajas' sister, Elva Caldera, said her younger brother was into cars and speed most of his life.

Caldera said her brother began working as a truck driver with their father and had owned his own business for a while.

Barajas was born in Santa Maria and moved to Gonzales with his family when he was in elementary school, Caldera said. He graduated from Gonzales High School. Recently he'd spent two years working as the dispatch manager for Andrews Trucking.

Barajas enjoyed watching the cartoon "Speed Racer" as a child, she recalled.

"He always had a need for speed," Caldera said.

Barajas had recently bought the 2005 Suzuki 1300 for his 29th birthday, relatives said.

"He had wanted that bike for a very long time," said his sister, Griselda De La Rosa. "He was a big baby with a new toy. He was very excited."

Barajas and a friend were riding their motorcycles through the tunnel heading into New Monterey when Barajas lost control of his motorcycle.

He crashed into a light pole, police reported. The other rider also lost control of his motorcycle but investigators are unclear about what happened. Both men were wearing helmets, police said. The accident is under investigation.

Barajas was taken to Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula where he later died. His friend suffered moderate injuries, firefighters reported.

"(Barajas) was very humble," said Valerie Andrews, a friend. "He was a great friend to everyone. He was a man of integrity."

claljentera@monterey herald.com

 

[thrasherfox]

Sad.. but frustrating at the same time..

there is no comment on if he was a long time motorcycle rider or not.. But best case scenario, even if he was a regular rider, he was probably new to a Busa.

No telling what happened though. Not enough information. coming out of a tunnel, for all we know a dog could have ran out into the street.

That is the only thing that make sense to me as to why two riders would both lose control, either they bumped into each other, or something ran out in front of them.

I am opting something might have came out in front of them as they exited the tunnel.

All I can say is everyone needs to be careful.

And to all you newbie's out there, if you are just new to a Busa, or new to motorcycles period, please give it time to get used to the bike before you start going nuts.

I was just telling someone this morning, a few months after I got my Busa I spent about two weeks going to a school parking lot and doing nothing but practicing breaking with just front tire, just rear tire, both front and rear. I finally got it to the point I was able to lock the front tire up and chirp the front tire and keep control.

What ever new bike you get, take it to a parking lot and practicing with it, breaking, accelerating etc. Get used to it

Sad.. 29 years old…

 

[busahaya]

That's is very sad indeed. I agree with you Thrash, we need to take some time to really get to know what our machine's are capable of doing before we get to excited with em.

 

[Revlis]

About the best write up of a Sportbike accident I have seen in awhile. Sad, but at least the blurb here was actually fairly neutral.

No Hype, No "WORLDS FASTEST" stuff... Just the facts. Refreshing.

 

[shenoyp]

 

[Kento-Moto]

there is no comment on if he was a long time motorcycle rider or not.. But best case scenario, even if he was a regular rider, he was probably new to a Busa.

No telling what happened though. Not enough information. coming out of a tunnel, for all we know a dog could have ran out into the street.

That is the only thing that make sense to me as to why two riders would both lose control, either they bumped into each other, or something ran out in front of them.

I am opting something might have came out in front of them as they exited the tunnel.

All I can say is everyone needs to be careful.

And to all you newbie's out there, if you are just new to a Busa, or new to motorcycles period, please give it time to get used to the bike before you start going nuts.

I was just telling someone this morning, a few months after I got my Busa I spent about two weeks going to a school parking lot and doing nothing but practicing breaking with just front tire, just rear tire, both front and rear. I finally got it to the point I was able to lock the front tire up and chirp the front tire and keep control.

What ever new bike you get, take it to a parking lot and practicing with it, breaking, accelerating etc. Get used to it

Sad.. 29 years old…

I had a newbie close call when I got mine... I bet a number of us have. Certainly wish all new owners would take it easy and take the MSF course ... It should be required before they leave the show room.

I wonder if the factory guys think about the possibilities as these assemble the beast.

TV said witnesses said they were racing

dont know.

 

[frisbee]

 

[#cruncherbusa]

 

[bacharles]

So sorry to hear...

 

[Racer 222]

I agree with you Thrash, we need to take some time to really get to know what our machine's are capable of doing before we get to excited with em.

But where do you do this? Get to know your machines capabilities. I hear so much on this site about people doing roll ons on the freeways and wheelies and the like but very few people here have gone to a track under instruction to see what there bikes can do. Honestly I am about out of sympathy for street racer crashes.

My prayers to those they left behind. They are the ones with the pain now.

 

[nitrousjunkie]

Very sorry for the family, this did not have to happen!

 

[Charlesbusa]

I agree with you Thrash, we need to take some time to really get to know what our machine's are capable of doing before we get to excited with em.

But where do you do this?  Get to know your machines capabilities.  I hear so much on this site about people doing roll ons on the freeways and wheelies and the like but very few people here have gone to a track under instruction to see what there bikes can do.  Honestly I am about out of sympathy for street racer crashes.  

 

My prayers to those they left behind.  They are the ones with the pain now.

You do this away from the city. Do not endanger other people. Drive an hour to the boonies, Monterey is a small city.

I am glad no innocent bystanders were hurt, that would have been a tragedy!

 

[Thinker62]

I agree with you Thrash, we need to take some time to really get to know what our machine's are capable of doing before we get to excited with em.

But where do you do this?  Get to know your machines capabilities.  I hear so much on this site about people doing roll ons on the freeways and wheelies and the like but very few people here have gone to a track under instruction to see what there bikes can do.  Honestly I am about out of sympathy for street racer crashes.  

 

My prayers to those they left behind.  They are the ones with the pain now.

You do this away from the city.  Do not endanger other people.  Drive an hour to the boonies, Monterey is a small city.

I am glad no innocent bystanders were hurt, that would have been a tragedy!

I agree with Charles and Marc, but like Thrash said, they did NOT give any details about the accident. We do not know if they were street racing. We do not know if they were stunting. We do not know what their skill levels were. We do not know what the road or traffic conditions were. We do not know the speed at which the accident took place. I for one am not going to jump to conclusions because a reporter got a sound bite of a relative saying "he had a need for speed".

Either way, RIP!

 

[Charlesbusa]

I agree with you Thrash, we need to take some time to really get to know what our machine's are capable of doing before we get to excited with em.

But where do you do this?  Get to know your machines capabilities.  I hear so much on this site about people doing roll ons on the freeways and wheelies and the like but very few people here have gone to a track under instruction to see what there bikes can do.  Honestly I am about out of sympathy for street racer crashes.  

 

My prayers to those they left behind.  They are the ones with the pain now.

You do this away from the city.  Do not endanger other people.  Drive an hour to the boonies, Monterey is a small city.

I am glad no innocent bystanders were hurt, that would have been a tragedy!

I agree with Charles and Marc, but like Thrash said, they did NOT give any details about the accident. We do not know if they were street racing. We do not know if they were stunting. We do not know what their skill levels were. We do not know what the road or traffic conditions were. We do not know the speed at which the accident took place. I for one am not going to jump to conclusions because a reporter got a sound bite of a relative saying "he had a need for speed".

Either way, RIP!

My comments were based on the info available, which included bystanders saying the two bikes were racing, two bikes crashed.  Cops still investigating, but did not disscredit the racing comment info.

Obivously, if it is determined that the two bikes were doing the speed limit.  Then my comments about racing in cities is irrelevent in this case, but are still relevent issues in a general sense.

Either way, I still stand on what I said.  It would have been a graver tragedy if innocent bystanders were killed.  Something all of us need to remember when we push the speed up.



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[Racer 222]

Until we start to police ourselves (All riders) we are going to continue to hear about things like this. I am on quite a few other boards and I read these over and over. Forgive me if I sounded as if I don't care. Just the opposite! Most on this site are older. We should be striving to get young riders under our wings. Better to ride with a person that has been riding for 50 years cause you are sure going to learn something.

Marc
Marc