Modesto motorcyclist who died after Briggsmore crash at McHenry Village mourned
The Modesto motorcyclist who died Saturday night after being struck by a car on East Briggsmore Avenue is being mourned by friends who shared memories on social media and set up a memorial at the crash site.
Allen Zuck’s daughter Brittany told The Bee, “It brings us comfort knowing he was doing something he loved on a special day.” She was referring to Saturday being her birthday. Also, her dad was heading home from a celebration-of-life gathering when the crash occurred.
Shortly before 6:15 p.m. Saturday, the 52-year-old was eastbound on a Harley-Davidson motorcycle on Briggsmore just east of McHenry Avenue.
The 52-year-old female driver of a Buick Encore was at a stop sign in the break in the Briggsmore median that allows motorists to enter the McHenry Village shopping center on its north side.
As she was making a left turn into McHenry Village, the vehicles collided and Zuck was thrown from his motorcycle.
He was taken to a nearby hospital, where he died from his injuries.
The name of the Buick driver, who apparently was uninjured, was unavailable from police Monday.
Zuck worked in heating and air-conditioning repair, his daughter said.
The victim was a former Beyer High School student
So, coincidentally, did longtime friend Chris Michener, who became friends with Zuck back in their freshman year at Beyer High School.
Allen and his brother, Matt, came to Modesto from Long Beach and were “little surfer kids,” said Michener, who enjoyed riding BMX bikes and skateboarding with Zuck.
“This is pretty horrifying. Matt, Allen and me were friends for a lot of years,” he added. “He was a good friend, he was always there for people when they needed him.”
Both his mother and brother died before Zuck did, and it was understandably hard on him, Michener said. “He really respected his mother, he put her on a pedestal. ... He was a good father to his children. He and his mother always looked forward to seeing his daughter and her little girl in Washington. He’d always posted photos.”
Her father “will be missed by family and friends forever,” Brittany Zuck said. “We would like to thank everyone who has reached out and ask you to continue telling fond memories to keep his spirit alive.”
On Facebook, old friends remembered the “amazing guy” they camped with and shared boyhood with in Long Beach.
Some commented on the so-called turning pocket into McHenry Village being dangerous. They noted previous crashes there, including one in December 2015 that cost another motorcyclist part of his leg.
That collision threw rider Jason Wright from his cycle into a couple of parked cars in the shopping center lot. His left leg was severed about midway down.
This story was originally published March 1, 2021 at 6:58 PM.
