ORLANDO, Fla. – A motorcycle shop owner was arrested Monday and charged with drunken driving manslaughter in the traffic death of a biker. William “Billy” Lane, 36, registered a blood alcohol level of 0.192 percent, more than twice the legal driving limit of 0.08. He was also driving with a suspended license for refusing to take an alcohol breath test after a June incident in North Carolina, Florida Highway Patrol Trooper Kim Miller said. Lane, attempted to pass two cars Sept. 4 in his 2006 Dodge Ram pickup despite a double-yellow line, Miller said. He struck 56-year-old Gerald Morelock, of Melbourne Beach, on his Yamaha Motorcycle, killing the man at the scene, Miller said. Investigators are still trying to determine how fast Lane was going. Miller said Lane originally refused to submit to alcohol tests this time also, but complied when officers told him the bloodwork could be forcibly taken because the crashed killed someone. “We are currently conducting our own investigation of every aspect of this accident, including the reported blood alcohol level,” said Lane’s attorney Kepler Funk. Accompanied by his attorneys, Lane turned himself in at a Florida Highway Patrol station, Miller said. He was also charged with DUI serious bodily injury and driving on a suspended license involving a death. He was booked into the Brevard County Jail on $15,000 bond. If convicted, Lane faces up to 15 years in prison each for DUI manslaughter and driving on a suspended license in conjunction with a death, both second-degree felonies. Byron Morelock could only smile. He stood at his brother Gerry’s memorial service Sunday at Sebastian Inlet, watching the lively crowd that came to honor his brother. “This is a beautiful thing,” he said. He gestured to the west, where an orange sun slowly dipped to the horizon. “Look at that sun going down. It’s not a bad way to go out.” Gerry Morelock, 56, died on impact Sept. 4 when his moped was hit head-on by a pickup truck driven by well-known motorcycle builder Billy Lane. About 60 people came to Sebastian Inlet bearing food and bringing stories about the man who touched their lives in more ways than one. Gerry Morelock’s best friend for 21 years, Bill Amis of Sebastian, read a eulogy at the service. He called his friend a “warrior-priest,” who suffered through his life but brought joy and peace to others. “The whole basis of the friendship was me helping to heal him,” he said. “But he ended up healing me.” Dave Brewer of Tampa read in the Tampa Tribune about Gerry Morelock’s fatal accident and knew right away this was his old friend from high school. After 20 years apart, he got in touch with the Morelock clan. “I wouldn’t miss this for the world,” Brewer said. Gerry Morelock’s mother, June, couldn’t believe how many people loved her son. “I’m flabbergasted,” she said. “It’s just to me the most unbelievable thing to see all these people.”
