Less than 30 minutes before he died, 23-year-old motorcyclist Colton Seth sent a text message to his girlfriend: “Baby, you make me so happy.”
“We just had so many plans,” said Wylie Ferrugia.
Seth, who lived with his parents in Plantation, was one of two riders who died Friday when both crashed into the same vehicle on U.S. 27 in Miramar, according to police.
Also killed was Raymond D. Adkins, 25, of Miami, the father of a 5-year-old son.
Seth was pronounced dead at the scene. Adkins, known to friends as Junior, was taken to Hollywood Memorial Regional Hospital, where he later died, according to Miramar police spokeswoman Tania Rues.
“Where to begin? He was a beautiful boy,” said Tammy Seth of her son. “Very passionate, happy, always positive.”
Seth and Adkins were with a larger group of motorcyclists prior to the fatal collision, which took place about 11 p.m. on U.S. 27 about a half-mile south of Pembroke Road, Rues said.
None of the occupants in the vehicle struck by the cyclists was injured during the crash. The driver of the car stayed on the scene and is cooperating with the investigation, Rues said. The driver’s name was not released.
The motorcycles and the vehicle were all traveling south when the crash occurred, according to police.
William J. Gonzalez, riding just behind Seth and Adkins, said the two were ahead of the other riders when the crash took place. “All of a sudden I see Colton’s bike up in the air,” said Gonzalez, 29, of Pembroke Pines.
“I got lucky and had time to go to the center lane, just avoiding it,” Gonzalez said.
Gonzalez said that stretch of U.S. 27 is without street lights, and he saw no lights from cars prior to the collision.
Robinson Paa, 20, another rider with the group, said, “We were just cruising when [Seth and Adkins] flew by. They were going fast.
“I did not see a car ahead,” said Paa, of Hollywood. “Then I saw smoke when Colton locked up his brake. And they slammed into the red car.”
Seth, who attended Cypress Bay High School, worked as a salesman at Sawgrass Ford, Tammy Seth said.
On his calendar he had indicated he was going to propose marriage to Ferrugia on Aug. 1, his mother said. “We talked about moving to north Florida, getting some land and starting a family,” said Ferrugia, 18.
Tammy and Kenneth Seth described their only child as an avid outdoorsman who loved fishing, spearfishing and riding his motorcycle, a 2013 Kawasaki zx10r.
“He has been riding since he was two years old, with training wheels,” said Kenneth Seth, a motorcyclist himself. “I rode with him. I never thought this would happen to my son.”
Also in mourning are relatives and friends of Adkins, who worked for Miami-Dade County’s department of public works and waste management, according to his sister, Tanisha Adkins.
Like Seth, Adkins began riding as a child, first on dirt bikes and four-wheelers, his sister said. He appreciated the dangers of motorcycling, but “he would always tell everybody, nothing’s going to happen,” Tanisha Adkins said. “He always wore a helmet.”
A memorial service for Seth will be held at 3 p.m. Saturday at Forest Lawn Funeral Home, 2401 SW 64th Ave., Fort Lauderdale. Visitation begins at 2 p.m.
Services for Adkins will be held at 9 a.m. Saturday at Jordan Grove Baptist Church, 5946 NW 12th Ave, Miami. A wake will be held at the church from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday.