On Sunday, Sept,. 15, family and friends will hold a celebration of life for Zach Gilbert, of Newcastle who lost his life in a motorcycle crash in Washington on Sept. 1. (Photo courtesy Gilbert family)
The pain was still obvious when Zach Gilbert’s loved ones gathered at his sister’s house in Nobleboro to tell a stranger about the late Newcastle man on Monday, Sept. 9. Yet, as the stories come and the tears flow, chuckles and giggles follow as one happy memory falls into another.
Gilbert, 29, was fatally injured in a motorcycle crash in Washington on Sept. 1. According to a report from the Knox County Sheriff’s Office, Gilbert, of Newcastle was operating his 2006 Harley Davidson southbound on Liberty Road in Washington around 6:01 p.m. on Sept. 1, when a deer ran out in front of him.
Gilbert took evasive action to avoid the deer, lost control of his motorcycle, and the bike “spun out and landed on its side,” according to Knox County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Curt Andrick. Gilbert came into contact with the pavement, sustaining serious injuries to his head and neck. He was not wearing a helmet.
Gilbert was treated at the scene by Union Rescue, and transported by LifeFlight of Maine to the Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor where he later succumbed to his injuries.
Gilbert leaves behind a grieving family, two young children, and a wide community of lives touched.
Born in Damariscotta in 1995, he grew up in Newcastle, graduating from Lincoln Academy in 2013. After a hitch in the Marines he returned to Newcastle to stay.
According to family members, there are two brighter spots for an otherwise gloomy story. One was that Gilbert was not alone when he crashed. He was riding with friends who cared for him.
The other is that Gilbert had already made the decision to donate his organs in the event of a catastrophe. Not only did his planning ahead eliminate a difficult, painful decision for his family, Gilbert’s organs have been donated and currently live on, helping others.
According to his family, Gilbert’s final act was consistent with the man he grew up to be.
“He’s just somebody that, like, you know, I could call up for anything, right,” said Gilbert’s sister Kayla Hodgeman. “He’s just somebody that, like, you know, I could call up for anything, right, you know, like anything that I needed, or, you know, or he was just always there. He was one of my protectors.”
“When she says he would do anything for you, that’s a true statement,” said Jim Gilbert, Zach’s Gilbert’ father. “I was stuck up in Greenville a month or so ago. I got a flat tire at four o’clock on a Saturday afternoon, with no spare. My spare was in the garage at home. I called Zach, and I said, ‘Zach, I’m in a mess.’ Said, ‘I’m up here in Greenville at four o’clock (in the) afternoon on Saturday, I got a flat tire. Nobody can seem to help me.’ He said ‘I’m on my way.’ I had that tire fixed by eight o’clock that night … Six-hour drive to change a flat. His comment was ‘Dad you would do it for me.’”
Gilbert was riding with friends Randy and Becca Butterfield and Matt and Heather Bergman.
According to Randy Butterfield, the five friends were enjoying a typical leisure ride on the day of the crash. Earlier in the day, they had motored up to Belfast and enjoyed a lunch at a favored dining spot. Zach Gilbert even sent his family a photo of the group he took during the luncheon.
Among those keenly feeling Gilbert’s loss is Newcastle resident Randy Butterfield. Zach Gilbert was an early friend of Butterfield’s son Shane, and quickly became a regular presence at the Butterfield home beginning when he was 4 or 5 years old, Randy Butterfield said.
As Gilbert grew up, Butterfield became a mentor to the younger man. The two served together in the Newcastle Fire Department, rode motorcycles together and worked together for the Maine Department of Transportation.
Butterfield said he absolutely regarded Gilbert as a third son. “I loved him like he was one of my own,” Butterfield said.
Working for the DOT, Gilbert worked his way up to become a crew foreman, overseeing a work crew assigned to the Waldoboro area. Gilbert was a skilled heavy equipment operator, Butterfield said, adding Gilbert was one of the most sought after grader operators in the state.
“He was running a grader all over Region 2 for the DOT,” Butterfield said. “He probably had a million miles of grading.”
Butterfield and Gilbert shared a love of motorcycles and rode many miles together. According to Butterfield, on the day of the crash, Butterfield and his wife Becca were on one motorcycle in the lead. Gilbert was following immediately behind them, riding solo, and both were trailed by the Matt and Heather Bergmans on a third motorcycle.
Butterfield said he crested a slight rise in the road and immediately encountered two deer in the road, one near the yellow line in the middle of the road and another near the white line painted on the right hand side of the road.
Butterfield avoided the deer without incident, but said there was virtually no time to react before the three motorcycles closed in on the deer.
At the time of the crash, the sun was shining, the road was clear and dry, visibility was good, and the riders were operating within the 45 mph speed limit. Riding conditions were excellent, Butterfield said, adding Gilbert was a skilled rider with years of riding experience.
“I got a message from a woman today,” Suzanne Gilbert said Sept. 9. “I have no idea. I know who she is, but she said that she was on side of the road. She had run out of gas, and that Zach came along and stopped and took the gas tank, the gas can that she had, and filled it up for her.
“She only had his first name. She didn’t know who it was until just recently, and she said, not only did he fill up the gas can, but he stuck a 20 in her gas cap. So when she went to the gas station that fell out, and I’m like, Yeah, I mean that just it sums it up, you know? And I told her, I’m like, even if it was his last 20 in his pocket, he would have done it.”
Gilbert’s family and friends will celebrate his life from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, with a sharing of stories at noon, at Duck Puddle Campground in Nobleboro.
