Bikers can get last ride in the Harley Hearse
ORMOND BEACH FL -- Those in love with the rumble of a revved up bike have a new way to make one last Harley-powered ride. This one comes after they've started that one-way journey to the Pearly Gates.
That's the opportunity Lohman Funeral Homes has begun offering, although the ride will be more of a peaceful crawl than a blinding tear down the street.
Lohman, a 60-year-old company that owns nine funeral homes and cemeteries in Volusia and Flagler counties, now has in its fleet a three-wheeled Harley Davidson motorcycle that will pull a casket safely secured in a custom-built wooden carriage.
Lohman refers to it as the Harley Hearse, and has high hopes of it being a hit in one of the biggest biker towns on the planet. The hog-led hearse won't cost any more than traditional hearses, said Michael Szymczak, Lohman's senior funeral director.
Szymczak will drive the special trike, but not in a freshly pressed suit. He'll be wearing black boots, black jeans, a white T-shirt and a black leather vest.
The Harley Hearse seems like the right choice for the 58-year-old deceased man taking the inaugural ride through Ormond Beach on Saturday morning. Anthony D. Benecasa -- Benji to those close to him -- was an accomplished drummer who played with the Allman Brothers and had a deep love for the blues.
Benecasa, who succumbed to brain cancer a week ago, was a bearded biker from New York who looked more at home in Daytona Beach. One of his close friends, Daytona Blues Society President Jeff Fedora, said Benecasa "was always in character," always wearing black jeans and a black T-shirt celebrating a band or Harleys.
"The remarkable thing about Benji was he was a real simple carefree guy," Fedora said. "He had that thing figured out that most of us don't. Nothing riled him up. He would do anything for anyone, even if he had nothing. He was just a happy man."