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A Centerville man thrown from his motorcycle after a collision with a car has died. The man, Michael Rakes, gave his helmet to his son before they took the fateful trip.
When KSL spoke with Rakes' wife, Trisha, last week, she was hopeful that her husband would recover. He suffered severe head trauma and had been in and out of a drug-induced coma until last night when he passed away.
Centerville police are still unsure of who caused the crash that sent 50-year-old Michael Rakes and his 10-year-old son, Jeffrey, to the ER.
It happened last Thursday near 400 East and 100 North in Centerville.
Michael got into an argument with 32-year-old Kris Prinster, who threw a cigarette out of her car window. He had pulled alongside her to yell at her. She sped up, but Michael continued to follow her. At some point, Michael lost control of the bike and he and his son were thrown.
Police say markings on the road show the motorcycle was in the left turn lane and within a few inches of the line separating the turn lane and the northbound lane. Police also say there is no evidence Prinster's car was in the turn lane or that she swerved to hit Rakes.
Jeffrey was taken to Lakeview Hospital with a chipped ankle bone, road rash and a cracked rib. Michael was flown to University Hospital with severe head trauma and died last night.
Jeffrey's mother was following behind on a motorcycle. She witnessed the crash. Prinster, the woman driving the other vehicle, wasn't injured in the crash.
"Today it's all about us and our sympathies for the Rakes family right now," Michael Prinster, the brother of Kris Prinster, said. He added. "She had quit smoking before, had just started again a week or two before, and was not happy about starting that. I'm sure she is even less happy now."
The incident is still under investigation by Centerville Police in cooperation with the Davis County Attorney's Office.
E-mail: spark@ksl.com
E-mail: tcallan@ksl.com
