Dirt-bike riding continues at Cape fatal accident site
Surprised riders say teen victim was very careful
 
WOODBINE -- At the former Foundation & Structures Inc. landfill site off Fidler Hill Road, the high-pitched whine of Robert Wood's new dirt bike rises from the quiet of a cold, windswept Sunday afternoon.
 
His tires spray dirt as his bike climbs and jumps the mounds that make up the desolate terrain. Soon, other bikes chime in, including two four-wheeled types that circle the sandy terrain with similar ease. From all this high-spirited activity, you would never know another dirt-bike rider was killed just 24 hours earlier at the same property.
 
Fourteen-year-old Daniel Taylor, of Weymouth Township, was killed Saturday after losing control of his two-wheeled CR-125 model bike as it came down a small incline. An autopsy will be performed today at Shore Memorial Hospital in Somers Point. However, officials believe he suffered neck injuries when his bike landed too hard.
 
The news surprised other riders at the site Sunday.
 
"I've never heard of that happening, especially that easily," said Wood, who has been riding for about five years. "It's kind of spooky coming out here knowing someone died," he added.
 
But the 17-year-old Dennis Township resident likes the sport too much to stop now. Even though he has suffered many injuries himself, he doesn't want to miss out on the thrill of riding.
 
"I can't quit," Wood said.
 
The news of Taylor's death also shocked other riders. They noted he was a pretty safe rider who wore a helmet, a chest guard, boots and protective gloves.
 
"It's definitely a freak thing," said 16-year old Andrew Galia. "If he was riding here, I'm sure he had some kind of experience."
But the accident wasn't enough to keep him and others from coming out Sunday.
 
"It can happen to anybody," Galia added as the noise of bike engines continued in the background. "He just lost control and a freak thing happened. He lost his life."
 
But in spite of the accident, no one apparently had any trouble getting in. Neither State Police nor borough officials had cordoned off the area to keep more riders from going in and getting hurt.
 
"The cops never bother you as long as you don't litter." Wood said.
 
Woodbine Mayor Bill Pikolycky was out of town over the weekend and did not hear about the accident until he got back. On Sunday, he said the site should be off limits and there should be no trespassing signs posted around the 90 acres. But there were no signs visible on the property Saturday or Sunday, and bikers said they have never seen any such warnings. Pikolycky said people keep knocking the signs over and using the property as they please. "There is a long history of trespassing," the mayor said.
 
The site was originally a gravel pit that Foundation & Structures Inc. leased from the city for use as a municipal landfill starting sometime in the late 1960s, Pikolycky said. It stopped being used as a landfill in the early '80s. The city and F&S are now trying to cap the actual landfill area, which makes up about 30 acres or a third of the site. A proposed fence around the property has yet to be built. That's partly because the borough and F&S Inc. haven't agreed on how to pay for the project. But Pikolycky said people still shouldn't be using the property.
 
"I don't see it as our (the borough's) problem," the mayor said. "You are talking about people who are trespassing. They don't belong on property they don't own. ... You shouldn't be in an area you aren't familiar with."
 
Still, news of Taylor's death devastated family and friends.
 
The family declined comment Sunday, but several of his friends shared their feelings. A freshman at Buena Regional High School, he easily fit in with the sophomore crowd, including peers like Mark DelCorio, Jeff Massey and Louis DeSimone.
 
"He was loved and will be missed," DelCorio said. "He was too young to die."
 
DelCorio and the others described Taylor as a great guy who liked dirt bikes, BMX racing and basketball.
 
"He was a neat guy to hang out with," DeSimone said.

Riders themselves, they said they would often watch in amazement at the many tricks he could do on BMX and dirt bikes. But they said he always rode responsibly and wore the necessary protective gear. Still, they agreed dirt-bike riding is a dangerous sport even with the gear.
 
"You can ride 55 miles an hour or 5 miles an hour and you can fall the wrong way and die," DelCorio said. "It's a risk you take every day."
 
A neighbor and her husband, who asked not to be named, were equally shocked by the death. They had last seen Taylor coming home from school on Friday with a friend.
 
Describing Taylor as a nice kid, they said the accident was a terrible example of why there should be stricter dirt-bike regulations. "They should go to a class and get a license and safety training," the man said. "That's what they have to do for a motor vehicle."

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