An 18-year-old Arizona woman, reportedly driving a sports car at 155 mph, slammed into a motorcycle carrying a former police officer – killing the father-of-two -- despite trying CPR to save the victim. Rachel Berg, 18, allegedly collided with park ranger Michael Clark, 46, on March 12 while he was riding his Harley Davidson motorcycle along US 60 in Mesa, Arizona.
Berg was arrested on Monday after the airbag computer system in her 2024 Corvette, valued between $70,000 and $140,000, revealed that she had been driving at 155 mph just seconds before slamming the brakes and colliding with Clark, a Temple Park ranger. Clarke was killed almost instantly from the impact.
Killing a Police Officer
After Ber's car hit Clark's motorcycle, the former Tacoma, Washington, police officer was thrown from his motorcycle in the eastbound HOV lane of US 60, AZ Family reported.
Berg pulled over and attempted to perform CPR on the injured motorcyclist, but unfortunately, he died at the scene. She then told the police that she was unable to stop in time before colliding with the motorcycle, the outlet reported.
Clark's wife, Laura, who now wants justice for her husband, paid tribute to him. "He loved being a father. He loved being a father to his kids and he was an amazing husband," she told AZ Family.
"He should've been home at 10:45 and I got out of bed at 11:15 and he wasn't and I could hear the police helicopter. And I knew, I knew. I called him. He didn't answer. I texted him, but he didn't read it," Laura said.
"He was a man of service. He served his country and he served the community of Tacoma. He was serving Tempe," she said about her husband of nine years, who had become a park ranger six months ago after the couple relocated to Mesa.
Family Devastated
Clark had served as a police officer in Tacoma for 14 years before they sold their belongings in 2020 and purchased an RV. "He never met a stranger and he was so warm and welcoming. And our house was always the house for holidays. He loved to cook for people. He loved being a father. He loved being a father to his kids and he was an amazing husband," Laura told the outlet.
She said that "young people sometimes think that they're invincible. And don't think their decisions through and it's devastating.
"Families are torn apart. He has kids that now don't have a dad," Laura added. "The devastation is real and I don't know how we will ever recover from it. I don't know how we ever put one foot in front of the other again."
It remains unclear who purchased the 2024 Chevrolet Corvette supercar for Berg. Her family lives in a modest four-bedroom, two-bathroom home valued at $616,000 in Tempe.
