According to Police officials, a motorcyclist participating in a protest ride against helmet laws in upstate New York died after he flipped over the bike's handlebars and hit his head on the pavement, a Sacbee report said.

The accident took place on Saturday afternoon in the town of Onondaga, in central New York near Syracuse.

The 55-year-old Philip A. Contos of Parish, N.Y., was driving a 1983 model Harley Davidson with a group of bikers who were protesting helmet laws by not wearing helmets. the State troopers told The Post-Standard.

Troopers say that Contos hit the brakes and the motorcycle fishtailed. The bike turned out of control, and Contos toppled over the handlebars. He was pronounced dead at a hospital, according to the report.

Contos would have probably not lost his life, had he worn a helmet, say troopers.

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