8 dead and 88 injured after Daytona Bike Week 2022

Authorities confirmed that eight people died after Daytona Bike Week 2022.

The event also left 88 injured.

Two murders were solved by mysterious initials, police said.

Eight people died, six of whom were motorcyclists, and another 88 were seriously injured after this year’s Daytona Bike Week. Two of the fatal victims were stabbed when they were returning home after the event. The murder, according to the police, has been solved by mysterious initials, The Sun reported on Friday, March 18.

Up to 88 injured were transferred to the trauma center of the Halifax Health Medical Center in Daytona Beach (Florida) after being involved in accidents, said the daily Daytona Beach News-Journal on Wednesday. Hospital spokesman John Guthrie said weather played a role in the number of injuries.

8 dead confirmed after Daytona Bike Week

«People were really more active this year because of the good weather, so we would have had traumas anyway,» Guthrie told local media. «But the 88 motorcycle emergency calls added to it,» he added, according to The Sun report.

Authorities reported that two motorcyclists died in the area after being hit by a car that swerved into the wrong lane on Saturday, March 5. On Monday a 39-year-old man was killed in a crash with an SUV, and a fourth person was killed in another crash in the area that same day, authorities said.

How did the deaths occur after the Daytona Bike Week?

On Wednesday, March 9 officers found a 42-year-old motorcyclist who had died after being ejected from his motorcycle, which had crashed into a culvert. The sixth death related to an accident occurred on Sunday, March 13 when a man died at an intersection when his motorcycle collided with a truck police said, quoted by The Sun.

And the brutal murder of the married couple Terry Aultman, 48 and Brenda Aultman, 55 raised the number of fatalities to eight. Investigators said that the couple had attended the events of the Daytona Bike Week 2022 (Motorcycle Week) in the vicinity earlier that night, but the police were still trying to determine what led to the attack.

A married couple who attended Daytona Bike Week were killed

The couple were found on the morning of Sunday, March 13. Their throats were cut and they were next to their motorcycles. Jean Robert Macean, 32 was arrested in Orlando as a suspect after a waitress recognized him as someone she had served, The Sun reported.

After photos of the suspect were released by the police, waitress Valerie Court realized that she had served him at the establishment on Saturday, March 5. Jean Robert Macean had also used a credit card that did not have his name on it to pay for his food, the police said.

A credit card receipt led to the capture of the suspect

«I didn’t have his name. He said ‘my temporary payment card,’ but he signed his initials, which was ‘JM,'» Valerie Court said. Thanks to that receipt, the police were able to locate Jean Robert Macean in Orlando, where he was eventually detained, the Sun’s report explained.

The head of the Daytona Beach Police Department Jakari Young declared that their deaths were «probably one of the most cruel and horrific incidents» that he had seen in 20 years of working for the police.

The tragedy after Daytona Bike Week

Jean Robert Macean’s arrest came less than 24 hours after the police announced a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the person responsible for the double murder.

The popular Daytona Bike Week festival was held this year from March 4–13. Last year eight motorcyclists were killed during the days of the event, which was a record. The Sun reported that it has already contacted festival organizers for comment after the event.