It is our sad duty to inform you that Graham Green, our drummer and good friend for the past year, died of injuries from a collision with a drunk driver on Sunday, November 18, 2007. Graham would have been 42 on November 23rd.
The band was scheduled to perform at Java Joe's on Saturday, December 1st. Instead, another band will take their spot, and the night will be dedicated to Graham. All proceeds will go to BADD. The drunk driver who caused the crash fled the scene, and was later arrested. He posted bond on November 20th.

He was Vice President, Western Sales for Cannonball Wine Company, had been riding for over 20 years, married for 14 and will be missed by family and by friends who were like family to him.
Here's a picture of Graham in happier times.

You can find an article about the upcoming benefit in the O.C. Register by clicking Here

Family and friends are making contributions to: Bikers Against Drunk Drivers - B.A.D.D. BADD World Headquarters 2665 N. Atlantic Ave.#126 Daytona Beach Florida 32118 www.baddcentral.com 514-826-6269

William "Billy" Lane, 36, registered a blood alcohol level of 0.192 percent, more than twice the legal driving limit of 0.08. He was also driving with a suspended license for refusing to take an alcohol breath test after a June incident in North Carolina, Florida Highway Patrol Trooper Kim Miller said.

Lane, attempted to pass two cars Sept. 4 in his 2006 Dodge Ram pickup despite a double-yellow line, Miller said. He struck 56-year-old Gerald Morelock, of Melbourne Beach, on his Yamaha Motorcycle, killing the man at the scene, Miller said.

Investigators are still trying to determine how fast Lane was going. Miller said Lane originally refused to submit to alcohol tests this time also, but complied when officers told him the bloodwork could be forcibly taken because the crashed killed someone.

"We are currently conducting our own investigation of every aspect of this accident, including the reported blood alcohol level," said Lane's attorney Kepler Funk.

Accompanied by his attorneys, Lane turned himself in at a Florida Highway Patrol station, Miller said. He was also charged with DUI serious bodily injury and driving on a suspended license involving a death. He was booked into the Brevard County Jail on $15,000 bond.

If convicted, Lane faces up to 15 years in prison each for DUI manslaughter and driving on a suspended license in conjunction with a death, both second-degree felonies.

Byron Morelock could only smile. He stood at his brother Gerry's memorial service Sunday at Sebastian Inlet, watching the lively crowd that came to honor his brother.

"This is a beautiful thing," he said. He gestured to the west, where an orange sun slowly dipped to the horizon. "Look at that sun going down. It's not a bad way to go out."

Gerry Morelock, 56, died on impact Sept. 4 when his moped was hit head-on by a pickup truck driven by well-known motorcycle builder Billy Lane.

About 60 people came to Sebastian Inlet bearing food and bringing stories about the man who touched their lives in more ways than one.

Gerry Morelock's best friend for 21 years, Bill Amis of Sebastian, read a eulogy at the service. He called his friend a "warrior-priest," who suffered through his life but brought joy and peace to others.

"The whole basis of the friendship was me helping to heal him," he said. "But he ended up healing me."

Dave Brewer of Tampa read in the Tampa Tribune about Gerry Morelock's fatal accident and knew right away this was his old friend from high school. After 20 years apart, he got in touch with the Morelock clan.

"I wouldn't miss this for the world," Brewer said.

Gerry Morelock's mother, June, couldn't believe how many people loved her son.

"I'm flabbergasted," she said. "It's just to me the most unbelievable thing to see all these people."

The semi, driven by 52-year-old Jimmy Joe Storm of Union City, Tenn., slid along the concrete wall before crossing the grass and dirt median into the northbound lane, according to a preliminary traffic crash description given by State Trooper Ray Minor.

The semi sideswiped another semi-trailer, sending it off the road and into a creek. Then it collided head-on with a third semi-trailer and an extended cab full-size Ford pickup truck.

Collision debris closed both sides of the interstate for about a 10-mile stretch and covered a large area around the site.

The collision happened at about 6:30 p.m. The physical part of the collision was picked up by Thursday morning, with the southbound lanes open at about 5:15 a.m. and the northbound lanes open at about 9 a.m.

The loss to the area caused by the tragic deaths of the occupants of the pickup truck won't be as easy to scrape together and forget.

The driver of the pickup truck, Raymond Ruzich, 43, of West Frankfort, his daughters, Ashley, 11, and Jeseca, 7, of Herrin, his girlfriend, Shelly Smothers-Bonney, 29, of West Frankfort and her daughter, Kaylynn Bonney, 10, of Marion, died Wednesday night when the pickup truck was caught in the semi-trailer wreckage.

"There is absolute, total sadness on the part of the faculty and the children," said Monsignor Kenneth Schaefer of Our Lady of Mount Carmel School in Herrin, where the Ruzich girls attended school. "We all came to Mass this morning and prayed for the family."

Schaefer said those wishing to contribute to the family can do so through the school if they wish.

Williamson County Coroner Mike "Junior" Burke said Raymond and Ashley Ruzich and Shelley Smothers-Bonney died immediately in the collision.

Jeseca Ruzich and Kaylynn Bonney were taken to Heartland Regional Medical Center. Both were to be helicoptered to St. Louis area hospitals. Kaylynn died in the Heartland emergency room as the helicopter waited for her to board.

Jeseca died at Washington County Hospital emergency room in Nashville, where the helicopter was forced to land because of Jessica's medical complications.

Storm was also taken to Heartland, where he, too, died in the emergency room.

The other two semi drivers were treated at Heartland, and both have since been released.

"This was easily the most tragic traffic crash I've ever seen," State Police Capt. Scott Rice, District 13 commander, said at a press conference Thursday morning.

He said no known weather or unusual traffic conditions seem to have contributed to the tragic wreck. CB traffic seems to indicate Storm may have been driving erratically before the accident, Rice said. He stressed the traffic crash reconstruction and investigation are in early stages. It is not even known at this point - and Rice said it may never be known - how fast Storm's rig was traveling. Other factors, such as seat belt usage, are still under investigation as well.

Illinois Department of Transportation Operations Engineer Greg Smothers said all traffic control and safety devices were in place and in full compliance with the law. The lanes in the construction zone are 11 feet wide, he said. There is a slight shift in lanes near the collision site.

The posted speed limit is 55 miles per hour when no workers are present. Smothers said most construction work has been done at night to avoid hampering traffic. Workers were preparing to go to the site when the collision occurred.

Burke said an autopsy was performed on Storm Thursday afternoon. While there is no immediate evidence that Storm was driving under the influence of alcohol, Burke said his office would be "pretty hush-hush" about conclusions until all pathology reports are complete.

Brown, 81, won a blues Grammy in 1982 for his album Alright Again! and was a pioneering electric guitar player who helped make the instrument a centrepiece of popular American music. Early in his 60-year career, he was a drummer for blues legend T-Bone Walker and a friend of Lightnin' Hopkins, but he also played jazz, country, big band, rhythm-and-blues and Cajun.

His longtime keyboard player, Joe Krown, said Brown had evacuated to his brother's home in Orange, Texas, just before Hurricane Katrina struck.

Brown was diagnosed with cancer last year but news that Katrina had ruined New Orleans and destroyed his home in Slidell was the final blow, Krown said. "There was nothing to go back to. He lost the will to live.

Brown, born in 1924 in Vinton, Louisiana, but raised in Orange, came from a musical family and played guitar, fiddle, mandolin, viola, harmonica and drums. A teacher said his deep voice sounded like a swinging gate, which led to the nickname "Gatemouth".

His most popular album was Standing My Ground (1989).

Most of Brown's career memorabilia was lost."The only thing they saved was his legendary Firebird guitar," said Krown.

(Original publication: May 10, 2004)

YONKERS — More than 100 friends and family members came together yesterday to say goodbye to Jason Stern, a 36-year-old who was riding his motorcycle last week when he was fatally struck by a vehicle on the Saw Mill River Parkway.

The memorial service was held at Stern's business, T-Shirt Printing, a screen-printing factory at 25 Saw Mill River Road.

Stern, a screen printer since the age of 14, made T-shirts for concerts and charity events, including March of Dimes fund-raisers and the Aids Walk. At the service, everyone wore one of Stern's creations.

"The essence of Jason was his work," his sister, Mara Stern, said yesterday. "He spent a tremendous amount of time there and his friends and family identified that place with him."

Mara Stern, her mother and her brother traveled from Florida on Saturday for the memorial and were staying at Jason Stern's Yonkers apartment, which he shared with his girlfriend.

"People flew in from all over the country to be here," Mara Stern said. "He was the kind of guy that was loved by everyone."

Stern was traveling north on the Saw Mill when a 2000 GMC truck struck him at the Lawrence Street crossing in Dobbs Ferry at 8:30 p.m. Friday. The truck's driver, Thomas Grady, 66, of Doylestown, Pa., was charged with driving while intoxicated, a misdemeanor, Westchester County police said.

Grady was arraigned Saturday in Yonkers City Court. He was being held in the Westchester County jail with bail set at $15,000. Information on whether Grady posted bail yesterday was unavailable.

Additional charges may be brought against Grady, pending results of his blood tests, Lt. Henry Cetina said. Police are continuing to interview witnesses, he said.

Stern will be cremated and his ashes sprinkled on Mount Washington in New Hampshire. Stern, a native of Bardonia who has lived in Yonkers for more than 10 years, also lived in North Conway, N.H., and would return there often on vacation.

"It was one of his favorite places. It was very special to him," Mara Stern said. "He would go there at any time of the year."