Motorcyclist who died in Tuesday’s crash ID’d

The Spokane County Medical Examiner identified a motorcycle rider who was killed in a crash Tuesday in Spokane Valley.

Gary E. Grzogorek, 44, died from the crash at about 11:35 a.m. when his motorcycle hit a truck hauling a camping trailer near Broadway Avenue and Eastern Road in Spokane Valley.

Grzogorek’s friend Robin McCoy said in an email that he was a U.S. veteran and has two children and one granddaughter.

“Gary has a big heart and he wore it on his sleeve when it came to dealing with not (just) his children but any friends and family’s kids,” she wrote in an email.

In July 2018, Grzogorek allegedly tried to run over his on-and-off girlfriend and another woman with his Chevy Avalanche pickup truck. He then allegedly got out and punched his girlfriend in the face, then sped off, according to court documents. He was spotted speeding shortly after and led police on a car chase that ended with a police K-9 tracking him down.

McCoy said that he would talk to a preschooler girl who was his neighbor every day before school, and he frequently talked to all of his freinds’ children.

Grzogorek also was charged with attempting to elude police in 2006, during which an officer’s car struck a 5-year-old during the pursuit.