Politician who sponsored helmet law repeal killed in motorcycle accident

The sponsor of the law to repeal Michigan’s mandatory helmet law was killed Monday night in a motorcycle crash.

Michigan State Police report that State Representative Peter Pettalia was wearing a helmet when he died.

Pettalia was riding a motorcycle on M-33 in northern Michigan’s Montmorency County.

Pettalia was the sponsor of the 2012 law that repealed the helmet requirement for motorcyclists. A recent study found motorcycle fatalities in Michigan jumped by 23 % between 2014 and 2015 and critics claim the repeal of the helmet law almost certainly played a role.

Pettalia chaired the state House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. He was serving his third and final state House term, and briefly considered a run for Congress earlier this year. Pettalia was 61 years old.