A Juneau man died Tuesday evening after colliding with a tour bus while riding a motorcycle.
Juneau police say they got a 911 call at 5:44 p.m. about a crash at the intersection of Egan Drive and Whittier Street and responded with Capital City Fire and Rescue.
Cramer Marquez Sexton, 48, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Desiree Evans went to high school with Sexton. She said they’d been friends for 30 years.
“Always laughing, cracking jokes, making people around him comfortable,” she said. “He taught me how to drive a stick shift when I was 16 in his yellow, I believe it was a Dodge Dart.”
She said he would stick up for her if she was getting picked on at high school parties, even though she was taller.
Nathan Johnson says he saw Sexton, who went by HB, minutes before the crash.
“He waved at me. I waved back,” Johnson said. “And then like, not even five minutes later, I can hear sirens going. And I just prayed.”
Johnson says he’d served Sexton a few meals at the Glory Hall and was used to seeing him around town.
“Just being around the homeless community. I seen him go check on people. I seen him give money to people who needed money. I seen him help people who were broken down with automobiles,” he said.
Johnson made a condolence post on social media that drew more than 100 comments from family members and the community.
“You could tell all of Juneau is pouring their heart out onto this post,” he said. “You could tell how much people loved him. You can tell how much people love his family, and how much people are standing with him and his family.”
Police say Sexton was traveling away from downtown on Egan Drive when he collided with a Glacier Express tour bus that was turning left from Egan onto Whittier Street.
There were no injuries to the bus driver or passengers. Police say the accident is under investigation.
This story has been updated with comment from Desiree Evans.
