Bike builder Billy Lane on trial for biker's death

Celebrity bike builder struck a biker head on in his Dodge truck while allegedly over the drink-drive limit



Billy Lane's truck after the smash

MOTORCYCLE builder Billy Lane, something of an American celebrity in his own right, is to go on trial next month, more than two years after a fatal head-on crash that left one man dead.

Lane, 38, from Florida, is charged with one count of DUI manslaughter in connection with the fatal Labor Day 2006 traffic accident.

According to Florida Today, Police reported that Lane's blood-alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit when he crossed a double yellow line to pass several cars near Melbourne Beach, striking Gerald Morelock's motorcycle head-on.

During a pretrial conference hearing yesterday in Viera, Flordia, Judge Meryl Allawas said that the trial was a "priority" for her next trial period. Given his connection with the American world of high-profile celebrity, this is going to be one fatal motorcycle accident that is assured of huge amounts of publicity.