Police Chief Al Hogle, of Longboat Key, Florida, was killed in a motorcycle crash today in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. The details of the wreck have not yet been released by the State Highway Patrol.

The Longboat Key News reported that Chief Hogle was an Air Force veteran and a long-time law enforcement officer. Chief Hogle was also graduate of the FBI National Academy at Quantico. He lived and worked in Sarasota for many years before retiring from the Sarasota Police Department. He also held positions as a Sarasota City Commissioner and Mayor. After leaving politics, Chief Hogle returned to law enforcement and became the Chief of Police of the City of Bradenton. After reaching his goals for the Bradenton Police Department, he moved on to Longboat Key in 2002.

Chief Hogle’s enthusiasm for riding motorcycles was well known. When interviewed last fall, Hogle declared his love for motorcycling in the mountains of Western North Carolina. During the interview, Chief Hogle commented about his love of high performance motorcycles. Western North Carolina, from Asheville to Robbinsville, is well known to motorcycle enthusiasts due to the scenic highways and curvy roads.The Blue Ridge Parkway and the Tail of the Dragon are two or the more popular roads among motorcyclists.

From the comments to many of the news articles about his death, there is no doubt that Chief Hogle’s death is truly a tragedy not only for his family, but for the many people he touched as a dedicated public servant.

While riding a motorcycle is a potentially dangerous activity, most motorcyclists are very safety conscious and ride defensively at all times. Most motorcycle crashes occur when a car driver fails to see a motorcycle and either turns across the motorcycle’s lane of travel or pulls out in front of the motorcyclist. Please watch for motorcycles as we enter the warmer seasons of the year because motorcycle traffic is already on the rise around Asheville and throughout Western North Carolina.

Davis Law Group is located in Asheville, North Carolina. To read our posts about defensive driving and motorcycle safety, click here.