EASTON — Alexandra Gustafson never had the chance to say goodbye to her friend, 16-year-old Ryan Orcutt of Brockton, who died in a motorcycle accident last year.
Instead, she made him a promise.
In the weeks and months following his death, Gustafson joined dozens of other students and faculty at Southeastern Regional Vocational Technical High School in Easton who pledged to make his memory live on by championing motorcycle safety legislation in his name.
They kept their word and after a yearlong effort of gathering signatures, traveling to the Statehouse and holding vigils and support meetings in Orcutt’s name, Gov. Deval Patrick signed new legislation last week to protect young motorcycle riders such as Orcutt.
The law, named Ryan’s Bill, requires teens ages 16 to 18 to take a safety course in motorcycle riding before obtaining a junior operator’s license. Under previous rules, teens had to only pass a written exam and vision test.
“When I see a motorcycle go by, it just brings back memories of what Ryan probably had to go through,” said Gustafson, 17, of Norton, who was in the school’s plumbing program with Orcutt. “We really don’t want that to happen to anybody else.”
Southeastern students, faculty and administration were committed to doing just that.
Students at the school wrote 1,000 letters supporting the legislation, and Gustafson joined 50 Southeastern students who traveled to the Statehouse last year to testify in favor of the legislation.
“They went up (to the Statehouse) and they had a whole giant bag of letters and they kept up with it; they kept pressing for it, they just never let it go,” said Ryan’s father, Brockton Fire Lt. Roger Orcutt. “I don’t think it would have ever gone through if it wasn’t for the kids ... I know it’s going to help somebody.”
After Orcutt’s accident on March 20, 2009, students in the criminal justice program at Southeastern researched the motorcycle operator law with the help of their teacher Pamela Foster and the school’s resource officer, Cally Gurney, an Easton police patrolwoman who lives in Raynham.
When the students learned about the legislation filed by the Massachusetts Motorcycle Association, they joined with students in the plumbing program, led by instructors Richard Batakis and Joe Donovan, to petition to rename Senate Bill 1894 in honor of Orcutt. The re-named Senate Bill 2344 later passed.
“For (the students) to see it through from beginning to end, it’s been a huge learning process for them to see how the laws are enacted and to see how it works,” Gurney said.
Two representatives from the motorcycle association, district manager Rick Gleason and legislative director Doc D’Errico, visited the school last summer to inform the students that the bill’s primary sponsor, state Sen. Stephen M. Brewer, D-Barre, was “touched” by their efforts and had filed a successful amendment to change the bill’s name. State Rep. Christine E. Canavan, D-Brockton, also pushed for the legislation.
In September, all Southeastern students were invited to write letters supporting the legislation. They were delivered to the Joint Committee on Transportation.
One student wrote: “Losing a close friend is like losing a piece of your heart, and maybe if Ryan had been required to take an extra safety class this may have never happened.”
“Just taking a test and knowing the basics just isn’t enough these days,” said another letter. “Too many people are dying because they don’t know the serious dangers of operating a motorcycle. We need to start saving lives.”
Dan Salvucci of Easton, 17, a plumbing student at Southeastern, said he’s happy the legislation passed.
“A a lot of good will come out of it,” said Salvucci, who was on the school’s wrestling team with Ryan.
William Foster, 16, of Brockton, is one of the students who testified at the Statehouse for the legislation.
“It means a lot to me knowing that we’re making a change,” Foster said. “He was a real close friend. He was real smart.”
Maria Papadopoulos can be reached at mpapadopoulos@enterprisenews.com.
