UPDATED: 5-25-09

Clyde Semar, known to coworkers as a gentle giant who enjoyed a good laugh and who doted on his grandchildren, was killed Friday morning in a motorcycle accident on U.S. Highway 183 near the Goliad/DeWitt County line.

Semar's wife, Chong, was also injured in the accident and was flown by helicopter to a San Antonio hospital where she was treated for non-life threatening injuries, the Department of Public Safety reported.

The couple were wearing helmets at the time of the accident, a DPS trooper reported.

Clyde Semar worked for the Beeville Publishing Co. as director of the company's Action Printing division.

According to friends of the family who talked to family members, Semar and his wife, Chong, were on his motorcycle when a tire apparently blew on his 1988 Kawasaki.

Semar’s son was behind the couple driving a vehicle, pulling a trailer carrying another motorcycle at the time of the accident.