Buffalo Soldiers and Troopers club VP dies in crash
Police say charges likely to follow
By DAN ARSENAULT Crime Reporter

LARRY (ROAD DOGG) PATTERSON, vice-president of the Buffalo Soldiers and Troopers Motorcycle Club of Nova Scotia, died in hospital after being struck by a car on Highway 7 near East Preston Friday morning.

The 48-year-old East Preston man was riding his motorcycle toward Dartmouth when an oncoming Toyota Corolla crossed the centre line and smashed into the bike at 6:22 a.m. The car driver did not require hospitalization.

Mr. Patterson, a 24-year civilian employee at the Department of National Defence dockyard, was rushed by ambulance to Halifax’s Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre but died at about 11:30 a.m.

Police are investigating and say charges are likely against the Corolla’s driver, a man who was alone in the vehicle.

"Alcohol does not appear to be a factor," Halifax RCMP spokesman Cpl. Joe Taplin said.

But he said police are continuing their investigation and charges are likely. "There were witnesses at the scene that we talked to."

Police closed a stretch of Highway 7 for three hours Friday morning while police conducted their investigation and cleared the scene.

Buffalo Soldiers club president Blaine (Hammer) Hamilton met Mr. Patterson 30 years ago.

"It’s like I lost a brother," he said Friday afternoon, calling Mr. Patterson "an excellent person."

They took part in a Ride for Kids poker-run fundraiser in Waverley last weekend.

He said Mr. Patterson was very community-oriented and once served as president of the Nova Scotia Mass Choir, ushered at his church and was active at the East Preston Recreation Centre.

Mr. Patterson was the Buffalo Soldiers road captain, which meant he had to watch out for the members’ safety when they rode as a group.

"He mapped out our route," Mr. Hamilton said. "He ensured that we stayed within our speed limits and made sure that we followed our staggered pattern. He was very safety-conscious."

The other bikers will support the family as much as possible, he said. "Whatever they need us to do, we’ll do."

Mr. Patterson leaves behind Shawna, his wife of 25 years, and a daughter.

In a feature story on the biker club that The Chronicle Herald published earlier this year, members said the two-year-old motorcycle club’s mandate was to educate people about the contributions made by Canada’s two all-black military units.

Anyone with a criminal record can’t drive with the Buffalo Soldiers, something Mr. Patterson mentioned in the article.

"Just because you’re a black rider. . . . If you’re not in good standing there is no way you’re going to ride with us," he is quoted as saying in the article. "If you sold drugs, you can’t drive with us."