ASHEVILLE — When Monty Fuchs heard about a fatal motorcycle wreck on Town Mountain Road, he thought it was just another sport bike rider who took the curves a little too fast.
“I saw it on the news, and I kind of judged real quickly and thought, ‘They probably got what they deserved racing up that road,’” Fuchs said. “I felt really bad when I found out who it was.”
Fuchs learned that the victims of the July 24 crash were Nathan Jake Bucker and his wife, Felicia.
Fuchs, the technology director for Buncombe County Schools, works with Felicia Buckner.
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She was riding on the back of a motorcycle driven by her husband when he lost control in a curve and it slid under an oncoming pickup, according to the N.C. Highway Patrol.
The crash killed Nathan Buckner and critically injured his wife.
“As soon as I found out it was Felicia, it just broke my heart,” Fuchs said. “So I started Biker Down.”
Biker Down WNC is a resource and ministry that supports motorcyclists injured in crashes and their families, through prayer, visits and fundraising, Fuchs said.
The group has a web site, bikerdownwnc.org, with an accident updates blog that lists news about victims of recent motorcycle accidents in Western North Carolina. The mountains and winding roads attract motorcyclists from far and wide. When one of them crashes, they might not have any support.
“It takes a while for their (out-of-town bikers’) family to get here and when their family gets here, they don’t know where to eat or where to stay,” Fuchs said.
“I put together Biker Down so that we could minister to them, support them in one way or another.”
Fuchs said there are about 35 people who help Biker Down. Several motorcycle groups, including Freedom Biker Church, Carolina Faith Riders, the Smoky Mountain Harley Owner’s Group and Concerned Bikers Association, have all helped support Biker Down.
The group supports all riders, regardless of what kind of motorcycle they ride or group they might belong to, Fuchs said.
Biker Down has ministered to several injured riders and continues to grow.
Fuchs said he received four e-mails and four phone calls from people on a recent weekday to tell him about a couple of crashes that injured three riders.
“That’s a success in my book,” Fuchs said. “If we had that response in every county west of Hickory, this would be a thriving ministry.”
(EDITOR’S NOTE — McWilliams writes for the Asheville Citizen-Times where this article first appeared.)