Andrew Wardlow | The News Herald
Members of the Panama City Chapter of the Christian Motorcycle Association pray for riders during the "Blessing of the Bikes" event at the Shoppes at Edgewater in Panama City Beach on Sunday. Around 25 members of the association prayed for bikes and their riders before they departed Panama City Beach.
PANAMA CITY BEACH — As the thunder rumbled off into the distance Sunday, organizers and local law enforcement assessed Thunder Beach weekend.
Rich Law, the general manager of twice annual motorcycle rally, said Thunder Beach drew a bigger crowd than it did last autumn and promised the fall event would grow to unprecedented levels if he was allowed to move to Columbus Day weekend.
"I would love to get that Columbus Day weekend. We've been kicked to the curb a few times," Law said of the situation.
Local officials are trying to brand Columbus Day as a "family weekend" and are scheduling events accordingly. However, 55,000 riders showed up this weekend and the event would be even larger on the right set of days, Law said.
"We know that this rally will get stronger and stronger and stronger," he added.
There was one motorcycle fatality Sunday morning, officials said.
Cody Littlefair, 21, of Buhl, Ala., was traveling west at about 90 mile per hour on a 2006 Suzuki GSXR-6000 motorcycle on U.S. 98 when he struck the back of a 2002 Chevrolet Blazer. The incident happened at about 4:10 a.m. near Powell Adams Road, Panama City Beach police wrote in a news release. The Blazer was being driven by a 40-year-old Andrew Mapp of Athens, Ga.
Littlefair, who was not wearing a helmet, sustained fatal injuries as a result of the crash, officials wrote.
The crash is under investigation, officials added.
There were a few other minor wrecks this weekend, according to Chief Robert Harding. He added that the Thunder Beach crowd is, on average, middle aged. Dealing with them is a lot different than dealing with Spring Break.
"They're pretty well behaved," Harding said. "They kind of police themselves and look after each other."
He added that police issued one noise violation over the weekend to a local hotel.
Law said he and his team work to promote riding safety and ask the bikers to stay clear of residential neighborhoods in order to keep the noise down.
"We have a great community that welcomes and embraces Thunder Beach," Law added.
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