One year ago: Harry Hurt

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Harry Hurt was an expert on motorcycle crashes.

Hurt, a professor of safety science at USC during the 1970s, was the chief investigator for the Hurt Report, a groundbreaking study that, among other things, found that speed was not a factor in most crashes.

‘I don’t think [Hurt’s] contributions to motorcycle safety can be overstated,’ said Art Friedman, former editor of Motorcyclist magazine, who in 1990 wrote a column naming Hurt as motorcyclist of the decade.

Hurt rode motorcycles for years and never had a crash, said his wife, Joan.

Hurt died a year ago at age 81. His obituary appeared in The Times on Dec. 2, 2009.

-- Keith Thursby