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Biker who died usually wore helmet
By MIKE BRASSFIELD © St. Petersburg Times, published July 5, 2000 ST. PETERSBURG -- Ivan Girard always wore a helmet when he rode one of his beloved motorcycles. He always did -- except on Saturday, the day a van made a left turn in front of him. Police have identified Girard, 59, as the motorcyclist who was killed Saturday night in a crash on Fourth Street near 38th Avenue N. Girard died on the first day that state law allowed cyclists to ride without helmets. But it was unclear Tuesday whether a helmet could have saved him. Girard of 515 26th Ave. SE suffered severe chest injuries, as well as a possible head injury. Police are investigating the crash and are waiting for autopsy results. "Normally, he wore a helmet. This would have been the first time he didn't," said Judy Girard, his wife of 42 years. "He must have thought he was close to home, so it was okay." Ivan Girard was a construction supervisor and formerly a longtime tugboat captain who moved his family from Massachusetts to St. Petersburg in 1983 because he loved the weather here. He is survived by his wife, three adult children who live in New Hampshire and six grandchildren. "He was a good husband and my best friend," Mrs. Girard said. "I'm in a state of shock. I keep thinking I'm going to wake up from a nightmare." Her husband was pronounced dead shortly before midnight Saturday at Bayfront Medical Center, about 20 minutes after the accident. He had been driving his 2000 Yamaha motorcycle north on Fourth Street when a southbound 1992 Mazda van turned left in front of him, police said. The motorcycle's front hit the front of the van. The van's driver, Joshua J. Licht, 20, was uninjured. "He always liked riding bikes. He's been riding bikes most of his life," Mrs. Girard said. "This bike was only a few months old. It was like his dream bike." Florida's longstanding mandatory helmet law came to an end Saturday, two weeks after Gov. Jeb Bush signed a bill repealing it. Now, cyclists 21 or older can ride without helmets if they have $10,000 worth of personal injury insurance.
 © St. Petersburg Times. All rights reserved. 
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