A motorcyclist participating in a weekend event remained in critical condition Sunday after being struck by a truck Saturday.
James Ruma, 32, of De Soto, was among the large packs of motorcycle riders who took to area roads over the weekend as part of an annual event in St. Charles County called Ride of the Century.
The event prompted hundreds of complaints to local police from people calling to report the riders performing stunts such as wheelies and standing up on their bikes on area roadways.
The cyclists, most on Japanese sport bikes, were en route to a gathering Saturday held at the Big St. Charles Motorsports dealership in St. Charles.
At 2:50 p.m. Saturday, Ruma was driving westbound on Interstate 270 east of Halls Ferry Road when he stopped his bike on the side of the highway and attempted to retrieve a backpack on the highway, according to a traffic crash report by the Missouri Highway Patrol.
Ruma was struck by a 1999 Ford F350 pickup truck, according to the report. The driver of the truck had minor injuries. Ruma was taken to Barnes-Jewish Hospital by helicopter.
James Ruma's brother, Brock Ruma, said Sunday that James suffered severe trauma to the lower half of his body and a ruptured artery in his right leg. James Ruma suffered multiple fractures and was under sedation. "He's fighting," Brock Ruma said of his brother's condition. James Ruma, a mechanic, is married and has a daughter.
Cpl. Jeff Wilson of the Highway Patrol said a handful of motorcyclists after the accident were given citations for non-moving violations involving registration or expired drivers licenses. Wilson said he could not confirm the number of motorcyclists who were riding with Ruma when the accident occurred.
A St. Louis-based group of stunt riders called the Streetfighterz founded the annual Ride of the Century event in 2002, which attracts riders from across the country. Pictures from the event posted on a Facebook page this weekend show some riders wearing T-shirts and sweatshirts saying, "We came to stunt."
"We had a lot of people calling about them doing tricks and stunts," said St. Louis County police dispatcher Scott Hogberg. Despite drawing the ire of other motorists, few, if any, tickets were issued against the cyclists for moving violations. "We had no real issues," Hogberg said.
Several local police departments received calls from motorists with complaints about the motorcyclists driving erratically and blocking traffic.
Frontenac police Sgt. Craig Picha said his department sent squad cars to Highway 40 (Interstate 64) Saturday afternoon after receiving complaints from motorists.
"Anytime you have a large group like this, you're going to get a lot of calls," Picha said.
Picha described the motorcyclists as "orderly" while they traveled westbound on Highway 40 through Frontenac's city limits. "We went to show a presence and had no tickets or summons," he said.
The St. Charles County Sheriff's Department also had no arrests or other contact with the motorcyclists over the weekend, dispatcher Jani Albright said Sunday.
Albright said the department was not contacted by the motorcycle group about the event and did not provide any street or crowd control assistance. "We don't have that kind of manpower," she said.
And, of course, they've just gone further to hurt the public misconception about motorcyclists.
