“Let’s prevent another tragedy from happening,” Brian Haire said. “I promise you what I’m going through right now. I wouldn’t wish this pain on my worst enemy.”
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The father of a 19-year-old motorcyclist killed on the Buckman Bridge says speed played a role in the crash and hopes his daughter’s story will save other lives on the road.
Bri Haire died March 22 after Florida Highway Patrol troopers say her motorcycle hit the back of an SUV on the Buckman Bridge. Her father, Brian Haire, said troopers told him she had been speeding before the crash.
“The excitement in what she was doing and her being over the speed limit is what ultimately led to her demise,” Haire said.
Bri, who graduated from Yulee High School, had always loved motorcycles, her father said.
She had recently started riding and was enrolled in a motorcycle safety course she was supposed to take this weekend.
“She’d talked about getting one since she was 16 years old,” Haire said. “As a father, I tried to talk her out of it.”
A rider himself, Haire said he understood both the thrill and the danger. But nothing prepared him for the knock at his front door the night of March 22, when a trooper arrived to tell him his daughter had been in a crash.
Haire said seeing his daughter at the hospital heartbreaking.
“Getting to the hospital, seeing the harsh truth, and having to accept that your child is no longer here, it was very, very difficult,” he said. “Even right now, I still don’t want to believe it’s true.”
Haire said he frequently talked with his daughter about safety, including wearing proper gear and taking her time on the road.
“It’s about being on two wheels in the open air, seeing the scenery around you with a full view, enjoying the wind, enjoying the sun, it’s not about the speed,” he said.
He added that Bri was wearing her helmet, long sleeves and boots the night of the crash.
“She was geared up,” he said.
Haire said he has seen many crashes on the Buckman Bridge over the years, especially with ongoing construction, and urged drivers and riders to slow down.
“When the construction is going on, whether you’re on two wheels, four wheels, six wheels, 18 wheels, slow down and pay attention,” he said. “Let’s prevent another tragedy from happening because I promise you what I’m going through right now, I wouldn’t wish this pain on my worst enemy.”
The Florida Department of Transportation said that once law enforcement completes its investigation into the crash, FDOT engineers will review the findings to determine whether any safety improvements are needed on the bridge.
In the meantime, Haire plans to launch a motorcycle safety initiative in his daughter’s name called “Riders for Bri,” working with a motorcycle safety organization to sponsor advanced training for new and inexperienced riders.
Money raised beyond funeral expenses, he said, will go toward funding those safety courses.
“Kiddo, I love you. We miss you. You’re gone far too soon,” Haire said. “But with every ounce of energy in my body, I’ll make sure nobody ever forgets.”
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office offers free motorcycle safety classes, with the next opening scheduled for June 6.
Ways to donate to support “Riders for Bri” can be found here.
