By MARGIE TRAX PAGE - Staff Writer - mtrax@starbeacon.com
GENEVA-ON-THE-LAKE — Orange and red flames lick the fuel tank of Michael Crotty’s Honda motorcycle, burning his memory into the fenders of the bike with indelible paint.
A year ago, the motorcycle, once Michael Crotty’s pride and joy, was just a motorcycle, just two wheels and some chrome, a roaring engine and the promise of adventure.
The fate of the Honda motorcycle changed April 8, 2008, when 24-year-old Michael Crotty, a firefighter with the Erie Fire Engine 6, answered his last alarm.
Michael Crotty was a firefighter with the Erie and Lawrence Park fire departments.
“We were riding buddies,” Tim Crotty said of his nephew. “When Mike died his dad told me to take the bike and do something with it, so this is what I did.”
The fuel tank shows the black shadows of Engine 6 firefighters as they fight the fire, as Michael Crotty climbs the engine ladder toward a blue hole in the smoke. The front of the fuel tank shows fire engines leading Michael Crotty’s funeral procession. The rear fender is a written memorial to the beloved firefighter.
Tim Crotty’s eyes well up with tears as he talks about his nephew and the tragedy that turned the Honda motorcycle into a memorial.
“I took photos from the funeral to the guys at Art Attack Graffix in Erie,” he said. “The art came out phenomenal, just phenomenal. People can’t believe how personal and how amazing this bike is. I feel (Michael) with me when I ride it.”
Tim Crotty is a firefighter with the Lawrence Park Township Fire Department.
Tim Crotty was planning to ride his Harley Davidson to the Thunder on the Strip event at Geneva-on-the-Lake Sunday, but his nephew had other plans, he said.
“I went out to the garage and there was a screw in the tire of the Harley,” he said. “So I took the Honda instead,” he said. “You just can’t help but think of Mikey, to think of what he meant to his family and friends. You think about the day of the fire and the last thing you said to each other. You think about how much he loved this bike and how much he loved to ride, and you think about how much we all loved him.”
