More charges possible in fatal bike crash

Already charged with reckless driving, the 23-year-old operator of a motorcycle involved in a May 30 fatal crash may face a more serious charge depending on the outcome of a state police probe.
Police said that the Virginia State Police accident reconstruction team collected information on Tuesday from the Stony Fork Road straight stretch where 19-year-old Candice Faithe Aker of Wytheville was thrown from the back of a bike driven by Michael C. Tabor of Radford.
Wythe County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Keith Dunagan said it would probably take four weeks to get the team’s findings, which will then be presented to the commonwealth’s attorney who will decide if the evidence warrants a manslaughter charge.
“What I’m trying to figure out is if ‘gross negligence’ was at play in the accident,” Commonwealth’s Attorney Gerald Mabe wrote in an e-mail. “The cases are all over the map on what that means. Speed is one of the factors to consider. Manner of driving may also be a factor. Sometimes the State Police can determine those things when they perform the accident reconstruction.”
Dunagan said that “there is some indication that speed may have played a factor” in the wreck, which occurred at approximately 2:44 p.m. after Tabor’s 2007 Kawasaki struck another motorcycle that had slowed to avoid an object in the roadway. The speed limit on the two-lane highway is 55 miles per hour.
Tabor and Aker were thrown from the bike and were transported to area hospitals. The other motorcycle’s driver wasn’t injured, police said.
Tabor, who was treated and released for minor injuries, was charged with reckless driving-improper control on the day of the collision, police said.
According to a search of local court records, Tabor has been convicted of speeding five times since 2004.
In 2006, Tabor was also charged with reckless driving (83 in a 65-mph zone) in Pulaski County, but he appealed the conviction to Circuit Court where the charge was reduced to speeding (75 in a 65-mph zone).
His current reckless driving charge is a misdemeanor that can result in a jail time and a fine. A manslaughter conviction, on the other hand, is a felony that can carry up to a 20-year prison sentence.
Aker, who graduated last year from George Wythe High School, was attending Wytheville Community College at the time of her death. Her memorial service was held on Wednesday.
Posting to Aker’s MySpace page, someone claiming to be Tabor wrote a lengthy apology to the victim.
“…I hope that where you are that you will be able to forgive me,” the message said. “I would have never hurt you. You were a great friend and a person that will never be forgot. …I would give the world to bring you back and let me take your place.”
Before her death, Aker had put a photo of “Tabor’s new bike” on her page with the caption, “It’s fast and so much fun!!!”
Jeffrey Simmons can be reached at 228-6611 or jsimmons@wythenews.com.