JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Last month, Jessie Rose-Busher, who helps lead the “New Breed 904” Jacksonville motorcycle riders’ club, met Oscar Viera, a 21-year-old fellow rider who’d just moved from Milwaukee.
Last Thursday, Rose-Busher woke up to learn her new friend was gone, less than 18 hours after what she didn’t realize would be her last time seeing him.
“It’s more of a depressing thing because, it’s like, I just watched [Oscar] kind of grow into this community and actually become part of us, and he’s gone,” Rose-Busher said.
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The Florida Highway Patrol reported last week that on Thursday night, at around 10:13 PM, a Milwaukee man riding a motorcycle on SR-A1A in Ponte Vedra Beach crashed into an SUV. The report said the SUV drove right in front of the motorcycle while making a left turn at Sawgrass Village Drive, and the rider died on his way to the hospital.
It wasn’t until Friday morning that Rose-Busher said she found out Oscar was the one who died. Rose-Busher told us she feels like she took him under his wing as he adjusted to Jacksonville, introducing him to members of the motorcycle club in the few weeks they knew one another.
She said what she’ll remember most about him are the little moments where his sweet, innocent soul and goofy personality had the chance to shine.
“He was very, very silly, someone who kind of just wanted to make everybody laugh and make their day,” Rose-Busher said.
We reported earlier this week some concerns from neighbors in Ponte Vedra Beach, who believe the intersections along SR-A1A need to be made safer for drivers. Others, though, think the same consideration should be made for motorcycle riders, too.
“These are all preventable accidents,” said Laran Phelps, who lost her husband, Neil, in a separate motorcycle crash on SR-A1A, less than 10 minutes from where Viera crashed.
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Phelps also shared with us that, less than two years ago, she, tragically, lost her 20-year-old daughter, Ella, in a motorcycle crash on Jacksonville’s westside. Phelps said she was riding on the back of her boyfriend’s motorcycle when the crash happened, and she’s continued to see more friends lose their lives in crashes in the time since.
“I don’t wish the pain of losing someone on anyone in this way especially. It’s been horrible,” Phelps said.
In 2025, the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles reported three motorcycle crash deaths in St. Johns County, the lowest amount since 2020. But in Duval County, the department reported 45 motorcycle crash deaths, the highest amount since, at least, 2017.
Seeing the increase in crashes has made Rose-Busher worry for the safety of her fellow riders.
“We all know the second you’re getting on the bike, there’s always a chance that this is the last ride,” Rose-Busher said, “we can have the loudest exhaust, we can throw the brightest colors on, we can be as noticeable as possible, but cars still aren’t looking.”
Rose-Busher told us that a candlelight vigil will be held in Oscar Viera’s honor tomorrow, starting at 7:30 PM at the Best Buy store on Blanding Boulevard, in Jacksonville.
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