Brighton, N.Y. – 39-year-old D
aniel Bell was known for his love of motorcycles.
"That was Dan's joy of life from the time he was three years old, Bell's mother Carol Taylor said. "All he did was ride his motorcycle."
So it was no surprise Bell was out riding his bike with friends early Sunday morning.
Bell was on his motorcycle traveling northbound on route 390 at 1 a.m. when he was struck head on by a car driven by 36- year-old Alphonse Chimera.
Police say Chimera was going the wrong way.Both drivers were dead when police arrived.
"I just want him back. I can't fathom coming home everyday without your husband," Bell's wife, Tiffany Bell said.
Bell's love of bikes is how he met his wife.
The pair met traveling to a bike show in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.
The two eloped a year ago, hoping to have a big ceremony later.
"He's kind of that guy your parents would always want you to marry, that's who he was, how he was to me," Tiffany Bell said.
Bell was also known as a family man and dedicated father.
"He has six beautiful children, two beautiful step children that were his life, that he adored," Taylor said.
"H
e's always been with his kids, and his kids were always his priority and that's what I loved about him because he cared about his kids and it's hard," said Bell's brother-in-law Leonardo Bergos.
The family says it's hard to understand why Bell's life was cut short while doing something he loved so much.The family is sharing their story, hoping drivers and bikers will think twice while out on the road.
"Every bike to look twice and every car to look twice because I lost my husband because of somebody's poor choices in life," Tiffany Bell said.
13WHAM spoke with Chimera's father. He tells us Alphonse was always a bright and intelligent person.
Chimera's father says his son was the type of person who thought of others.
He says his son must have got on the wrong ramp by mistake.
Police are still investigating what happened.
Police have not said why Chimera was traveling in the wrong direction.
