Motorcycle crash kills Saugus man

SAUGUS – White roses placed inside a tailpipe and several American flags fluttering in the breeze were left as a makeshift memorial to a 20-year-old Saugus man who died in a fiery motorcycle crash early Sunday.John Lucia, of 5 Brookfield Lane, was traveling on Walnut Street around 6:20 a.m., according to Assistant Police Chief Leonard Campanello, when he lost control of his 2009 white Honda motorcycle and collided with an oncoming truck. The motorcycle exploded into flames upon impact.Lucia clung to life at the scene and was rushed by ambulance to Melrose-Wakefield Hospital. Medical personnel had hoped to send him by helicopter to a Boston hospital, but the helicopter was not operating due to foggy conditions. Lucia was pronounced dead at approximately 7 a.m.The truck driver was not injured.The crash jolted Walnut Street resident Ray Perkins, who quickly ran out the front door of his home, where he encountered the severely injured Lucia.?It was one of the worst things I?ve ever seen,” he said. “There have been accidents here before, but nothing ever like that.”Perkins? next door neighbors, Michael and Mary DiTomasso also rushed outside, where Michael used a fire extinguisher to battle the leaping flames that surrounded Lucia, while Mary tried to console him.?I kept trying to tell him that he was going to be OK, because I would want someone to be there if it was my child,” she said. “I tried to comfort him.”Lucia?s mother, Cathy Lucia, said “JJ” left home around 6:15 a.m. Sunday and was on his way to spend the day fishing with his father in New Hampshire.?He was a very well-trained bike rider, so we?re all in shock,” she said. “He must have been turning the corner when he hit the truck and went underneath the truck. His bike split in half, but he still had his helmet on, which saved that gorgeous face of his.”Since learning of his death, Lucia said her home has been flooded with her son?s friends stopping by to pay their respects.?I never realized he had so many friends,” she said. “He was a wonderful kid, a hard worker and just well-liked by everyone.”By Monday afternoon, the makeshift memorial had grown to include boxing gloves and shoes, pictures of happier times with friends, and messages scrawled on the post, including one that said, “Rest easy my beautiful angel.”Lucia said she plans to bury her son in his signature outfit of jeans and a white t-shirt and have a motorcycle procession for his funeral.A 2009 graduate of Northeast Metro Tech in Wakefield, Lucia worked for Lynhurst Plumbing & Heating, and was in the process of obtaining his plumbing license.The accident remains under investigation by Saugus and State Police. Campanello said speed is being considered as a possible factor in the crash.