Friends remember Spanaway motorcyclist killed after being struck by teen street racers

SPANAWAY, Wash. -- Detectives say a deadly accident in Spanaway was caused by street racing. Charges are now pending against the two teenagers who lost control of their vehicles and hit an oncoming motorcyclist.

“It was a big chunk that was ripped out of a lot of our lives,” says Bill Saxton, a close friend of  Rollin Gray, 61.

Saxton says he met the Navy veteran through the Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association, a group devoted to charity work.

“Anytime he came across a vet that needed any help, it didn't matter who they were, when they served, he was right there to help them out in any way and every way he could.”

Friends tell us Gray lived life to the fullest. He was an avid fisher and golfer who started playing the banjo about 10 years ago.

“He was a very big personality. He was always a presence, you always knew when he was around.”

Tuesday night, Gray was riding his motorcyle back to his Spanaway home when an oncoming vehicle struck him. Detectives said an 18-year-old and a 16-year-old with just a learner's permit had been racing down 182nd Street East at high speeds. Gray suffered severe injuries and died at the hospital Thursday.

“It doesn't matter who hit the guy on the motorcycle,” says Pierce County sheriff’s detective Ed Troyer. “Both of them caused it by racing and switching lanes, so they both can be held accountable.”

Gray’s friends hope other young drivers will see this accident and realize how dangerous racing can be.

“Maybe think twice before you do it,” says Saxton. “Take it out on a racetrack, do it somewhere safer, where it's a more controlled environment.”

They say they don’t want anyone else to feel the pain they’re feeling right now.

“It’s never good when we lose someone, but when it's senseless and serves very little purpose, it's just devastating.”

Gray leaves behind a wife and two children.

Detective say the teenagers involved in the crash were both cited immediately after the accident. It will be up to the prosecutor’s office to decide what charges they could face now that Gray has died.