SHEFFIELD — At 6-foot-5 and 370 pounds, Brad Crawford was a mountain of a man with a motorcycle to match.
Crawford, 27, of Sheffield, lost his life when his 1997 Boss Hoss motorcycle crashed Thursday night at Quaker Steak and Lube’s Bike Night.
A number of witnesses saw Crawford thrown from the motorcycle, according to Lorain County Coroner Dr. Stephen Evans and Sheffield Police Chief Larry Bliss.
“My understanding is he was stunt-driving in the parking lot and was thrown from the vehicle, flew up into the air and came down in the parking lot,” Evans said.
“He did a burnout, where you peel your tires,” said Bliss. “He lost control of the bike.”
“There was a large crowd,” Evans said. “Bystanders tried to revive him, the rescue squad tried to revive him, and MetroHealth Life Flight tried to revive him.”
Crawford, of Sheffield, worked alongside his father, Dan, owner of Crawford Trucking.
Dan Crawford had been at bike night Thursday night, too, but left before the accident.
He received calls to return to the restaurant and saw people trying to save his son’s life.
He expressed gratitude for the efforts.
“Somehow he just lost control coming out of the parking lot,” Dan Crawford said.
The motorcycle his son was riding had a powerful 355-horsepower Corvette engine and weighed about 1,200 pounds, he said.
“He was a mountain of a man on a huge motorcycle, but he fit it,” Dan Crawford said. “His arms were the size of my legs.
“He was my best friend,” Dan Crawford said, his voice breaking with emotion. “We did everything together — he was my life.”
A 2003 graduate of Brookside High School, Brad Crawford played football alongside Warren Hodges, a 2005 Brookside grad, and the two remained friends after high school.
“He was a fun-loving guy and worked long hours,” Hodges said. “He was always cracking jokes — he was a big guy with a big heart.”
Another friend, Daniel “Sito” Martinez, said people just liked being around Crawford.
“He was a cool guy, we exchanged numbers and we started hanging out almost every day,” Martinez said. “My family would invite him to family events — a lot of people loved his sense of humor.”
Crawford was “a great friend to many people,” according to Christina Bland, whose name was Christina Christopher when she graduated from Brookside with Crawford in 2003.
“I don’t think he had any ememies,” she said. “He was always happy, outgoing — just a great person.”
Dan Crawford said Hempel Funeral Home in Amherst will handle arrangements.
He said his son also is survived by his mother, Enedelia Trevino of Amherst; and older brother Dan Crawford, now living in New Jersey; younger sister Selena Trevino; and younger brother Corey Trevino.
Crawford said his son was a big help at Crawford Trucking and would have probably taken over the business in due time. Their work largely involved hauling dirt in dump trucks from construction sites and they were working this summer on the new interchange in Avon and the Ford Road project in Elyria, Crawford said.
“He was a good worker,” Crawford said.
In their time off, they enjoyed fishing and tubing from their 30-foot Baha boat, which was moored in a slip at Key Harbour Marina in Vermilion.
Crawford was not wearing a helmet. Evans, the coroner, said there is no way to know if a helmet could have saved him.
Contact Cindy Leise at 329-7245 or cleise@chroniclet.com.
Contact Chelsea Miller at 329-7123 or cmiller@chroniclet.com.
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