William D. (Billy) Lane
According to the Florida Inmate Release Information web site, William D. (Billy) Lane was released today from the Orlando Transition Center and is re-opening his shop in Daytona Beach, Florida.
You might recall that Billy Lane (Choppers Inc.) was involved in a drunk-driving crash that killed Sebastian Inlet Park Ranger and fellow biker Gerald Morelock on A-1-A in Melbourne Beach on September 4, 2006. Billy repeatedly took responsibility, didn’t offer any excuses for the crash and told the court he wasn’t seeking pity.
He was sentenced to six years in prison and three years’ probation. Judge Robert Burger also ordered Lane’s driver license be suspended for life.
Good people make mistakes. You can’t take the past back and he will have to live everyday with the thought that another person is no longer alive because of his actions. There were no winners. He paid a price, served his time and enough said.
My hope is that all goes well in his new shop and that he can be an inspiration to others in not only the creativity of his work.
Photo courtesy of Florida Corrections.
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[…] September 18, 2014 – Billy Lane is released from the Orlando Transition Center […]
I remember running into Lane during one of my trips to Sturgis some years back. A sad tale for sure with no winners. I hope he can get his license back somehow and once again feel the wind in his face.
I echo the statement “there were no winners.” The only thing that Billy can do is to live a better life and make something out of this mess. A motto I have is “Be a better person today than I was yesterday.” A suspended license for life is a tough sentence. These days it seems impossible to make a living with out one.