Friends of a military veteran who died in a motorcycle crash as he failed to pull over for a police vehicle said no one will ever know why he didn’t stop and that he wasn’t in any trouble with the law.

A.J. and Rachel Forester said Robert Sciria was a great friend and neighbor. Sciria died after his motorcycle hit a berm at the end of Frontage Road. Sciria was traveling at a high rate of speed at the time, according to authorities.

“If you would have asked him, he would have given you the shirt off his back,” said A.J., who was riding with Sciria last Wednesday night.

Sciria was assigned to A Company, 3/7 Infantry Battalion during the 2003 invasion of Iraq and was a driver of a Bradley fighting vehicle involved in the “Thunder Runs” that led to the capture of Baghdad. Wounded in combat, Sciria was awarded a Purple Heart.

A Buffalo, N.Y., native, Sciria was employed as a driver/operator at the Georgia Ports Authority. A.J. Forester said Sciria even stood in line with him for hours in the rain to help him get a job at the ports.

Sciria played drums, and he and A.J., a guitar player, would get together and play.

“We had been friends for five months, and I feel like I’d known him for years,” A.J. said.

The Foresters also said Sciria would buy food and cook for his neighbors.

Forester said the two weren’t racing down Highway 21. He pulled to the side of the road after a Rincon Police officer approached from behind. But Sciria didn’t stop.

“We were riding along, having a good time,” A.J. said. “When he left the parking lot at Walmart, he was smiling.”

However, Sciria’s demeanor turned to a blank look on his face. Rachel Forester said Sciria, a veteran of the 2003 Iraq invasion, suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and had extreme flashbacks.

The Foresters said those who witnessed the accident said something appeared to be wrong with Sciria.

“Nobody will ever know what he was thinking,” Rachel Forester said.