Adam Keith Knott, 23, was killed Thursday on his way to school when his motorcycle struck a turning pickup truck.
Knott, a junior engineering technology major from Athens, Texas, went to bed early Wednesday night so he could spend the next morning working on a paper for class.
Knott was riding northbound on Texas Avenue. At approximately 8:40 a.m., he hit a trailer being pulled by a Chevy S-10 pickup while it was turning right onto Brentwood Drive, according to a College Station Police Department press release.
Knott died at the College Station Medical Center, where he was transported moments after the crash.
Knott’s mother, Virginia Knott, said her son had taken a class to learn how to ride a motorcycle after buying his first motorcycle more than a year ago.
Virginia Knott said her son usually wore one of his three helmets while riding his motorcycle but was not wearing one at the time of the accident.
It is not known whether wearing a helmet would have saved Knott, said Lt. Rodney Sigler, public information officer for CSPD.
Virginia Knott said Adam had left his favorite helmet at a friend’s house, and he didn’t like his spare helmets as much as that one.
“He was a wonderful son and always did the right thing except this once not wearing his helmet,” said Virginia Knott, who encourages motorcycle riders to wear helmets at all times. “People think they are invincible. On our way home from the hospital we saw a grown man riding a motorcycle without a helmet.”
State law requires motorcycle riders to wear helmets, but the law can be negated by loopholes, Sigler said.
“There is a law to wear a helmet but it allows riders to not wear helmets if they carry certain types of insurance,” Sigler said.
It is unknown whether Adam Knott carried such insurance.
Virginia Knott said Adam loved sports and was especially good at golf, both frisbee and traditional, but he spent much of his time studying after transferring to Texas A&M from Trinity Valley Community College in Athens two years ago.
Knott’s friend Kristine Bailik, a junior biomedical sciences major, said Knott worked especially hard at school and would routinely stay up all night to study.
Bailik said she was sure that despite the time of the crash and Knotts’ study habits, fatigue was not a factor in the accident.
“Being tired wasn’t a reason. He went to bed early (Wednesday) because he wanted to get to school early to work on a paper,” Bailik said.
Virginia Knott said she had to accept her son buying his 1999 Kawasaki Ninja motorcycle a month ago, but didn’t support the decision.
“He is old enough to make up his own mind,” Virginia Knott said.