It was just a trip around the block,, WEAR YOUR LID!!!!

ditchdr

Registered
Usually I post stories on calls i go on where a biker got mixed up and ended up hurt or dead, well todays story hits much closer to home. So close in fact the guy it happened to is lucky, and beyond blessed to be sitting here in my home typing it.

April 18th the day after my little one turned 7 was my day off from both jobs. That in its self is very rare. So i was rushing around getting stuff taken care of so Jacob and i could have a good night celebrating his big 7 when I just had to have a Sprite. Keep in mind the store is less then .2 of a mile from my house. As I am walking out the door I glance down and see my brand new Icon helmet on the couch, I said to my self " might want to wear that", but i dismissed it saying " im only going up the street".. Hop on the bike and take off, nothing fancy just a quick trip to the gas station like i have done a million times before. As I get turn left off my street onto the main drag though my little town I get up to 37 or 38 where ever just off idle in 3rd gear it on a C90. I am scanning my surroundings I notice a few cars coming my way, a cop on my right at a cross street and a whole lot of sunshine around me. When all of a sudden the cop pulls right out in front of me and seems to just stop in the middle of road. I am maybe 100ft from her at this point, I knew right there it was not gonna end well. Everything slowed to where it almost seemed like it was in slow motion. I use to get this when I was drag racing, might be 6 second pass, but in the car it felt like 30. Anyhow I knew i was not going to be able to stop in time, nor did I want to hit her with the front wheel. So I grabbed a hand full of front brake and threw the side side ways, all the while looking to my right and praying she would see me and romp hard on the gas and maybe, just maybe it would be a close call. Yeah um that didnt happen. The bike hit her at an angle front wheel first the rest slamming into the rear 1/4 panel of the car. I knew i hit hard cause just the impact alone hurt like hell.

Next thing I know I am looking down upon my bike as I am flying off of it backwards. At this point I thought I tucked myself into a ball, but I am told I loked like drunk superman, I hit the ground about 15 to 20 feet away landing on my left shoulder really hard snapping my head into the pavement ( just a trip to the store right) I see a bright white like then go out cold. My memory stops here as to the days events, but seeing as how the medic who took me to the ER is my partner who was working an OT shift that i declined he came by and game me the details.

Per him, when he pulled up I was sitting in the middle of the rd rasing cane the my wrist hurt and my shoulder was in a lot of pain. Oh and I was throwing up, no I was projectile vomiting and would not let anyone near me. Inbetween all this i kept asking if the cop was ok. Jim managed to get me in the ambulance and taken down to the trauma center. I was diagnosed with a severe concussion, dislocated shoulder, dislocated elbow, sprained wrist, road rash and a deep bruise to my thigh. And get this I was released 3 hours later, no treatment no nothing..

Jim also tells me i was cussing him out and telling how I would be treated, what meds i would be given, where ot place my IV and so on. Keep in mind Jim and i are super tight. He has my back and I his every time were at work. He is by far the best medic I have ever worked with..


Anyhow back to the story,, I am at home now and things are better but will be a long time until they are back to where they were at 2pm April 18th. I have been to a nuro surgeon have had countless x rays, CT scans and MRI's done, my sense of smell and taste are gone and will not be back, I cant walk across the house with out getting dizzy, just a lot of stuff is bad, most of it time will fix since the entire front of my brain is a black and blue blob right now. As far as the shoulder and wrist goes there is pretty bad nerve damage to both, in my right hand my pinky and ring finger all the way along the botttom of my arm up to my elbow are numb due to nerve damage, my shoulder was out of joint and there is nerve, tendon, and ligament damage there, but none of this can be addressed until my head is cleared..

So my Busa family, I ask of you, no I beg, no I demand of you to put you damn helmet on. I am 37 years old and may be disabled from this low speed crash. If you think it cant happen to you here are the details

The cop who pulled out infront of me is the driving instructor for the city's PD, she was on duty, we both work for the same city, me the fire/ems side her the PD side, the sky was clear are a bell, traffic was very light, I was under the speed limit, my best guess is I hit her between 20 to 25mph.. I dont care if your only loading your bike on a trailer, have a helmet on. I ma having to move in with my mother cause i cant work for the next few months and have no money to pay the bills here.. Why?? CAUSE I DID NOT TAKE 1 MINUTE TO PUT ON A DAMN HELMET!!!!


Oh the bike is totaled front end is twisted real bad at the neck and the right side is crushed from forks to rear fender.
 
Dern dude that freakin sucks,,why did the cop feel the need to stop and slam the brakes on you?
The damage your describing sounds like you were running 50 plus!
 
She said she did not see me, and when she did she froze. Yeah I have gone down at higher speeds and had less damage
 
holy krap. Matt I'm sick just reading that. I have the brain injury thing too. I can relate.

I will work on getting you some help...of some kind.

RSD.
 
Shi7 like this bothers me to the core. Dont anybody get any ideas about preaching gear,he's aleady done that...for US.

Rubb.
 
that is tough to read...glad you are healing and thanks for sharing...the point is well taken.
 
Thanks for posting your story. We (in California) don't get a vote on whether to wear a helmet or not, so this saves us from making a bad choice. I hope your injuries will heal in time. Riding a bike is risky, so wearing gear is important for sure.
 
i feel for you fella i have the same story. i cant really tell it due to insurance/police investigation, but basically my shoulder is fractured heavy, the wrecked knocked me out and cause brain bleeding etc, and bruised my ribs. this happened in mar and im still having a hard time when im talking to ppl bc i either stutter bad or just cant really talk easy of what i was just thinking. but the police and insurance are putting us at wrong for the wreck when its far from it. the insurance is acting crazy on everything even tho the police report came 4 weeks late and backwards as hell. all the info is crazy so lawyers came to the ballfield etc etc
 
connecticut being one of the few states that doesnt require a helmet means nothing to me. law or no law I have just seen too many fatal MC accidents to not gear up with a helmet. I have only seen (1) fatal in 18 years where a MC rider was wearing a helmet.

I am quite positive that several would have died either way but I am also positive that most would still be alive if they had been wearing a helmet.
 
Man so sorry to here this. I am sure you have already thought of this but get you a good lawyer. Sounds like you might need some future assistance. Prayers sent for a good and speedy recovery :please:
 
I feel your pain brother. 6 months flat on my back in a hospital, 23 reconstructive surgeries, another 6 months learning how to walk again. All I can tell you is that the mind heals faster than you think... Nerves take a long time to heal, but it wall all get better with time. Heal soon brother. FYI, I don't go to the mailbox without gear anymore.
 
Sorry to hear that bud. Hope you recover soon. For all the scar tissue in the brain,stagnant blood and blood clots look up natto. Its Japanese soybeans that have been fermented. Looks like ****, taste like it too, but it is amazing for dissolving scar tissue and blood clots. I used it for deep vein thrombosis and a myriad of other injuries over the years. Damn thing works wonders. Eat it straight on a empty stomach. Don't add anything to it cuz the enzymes will degrade. One serving per day.
 
Dang Matt, I hate to hear about this. I hope you heal up and get better from all your injuries. Keep a positive attitude and I'll pray that you don't have permanent long lasting damage.
 
Sorry to hear of your accident. Thanks for the reminder about wearing the proper gear. I hope you recover from this and get back to where you should be.
 
First: Sorry to hear of such misfortune.
Second: Rest, heal, and work for a full recovery. BEST OF LUCK!
Third: I have a similar story (bump starting my bike, accident on the u-turn back to the house), but I was super lucky to have a full recovery within a month.

Fourth: To all of us, the value of a helmet is never so high as when it is needed and we have left it behind.
 
Matt, I'm so sorry to hear this, and I truly hope you make a full recovery! Thanks for sharing the story and driving home the need to wear a lid always!!

Take good care of yourself!!

via Samsung Galaxy SIII
 
Yeah you gotta wear your Helmet :banghead: An old friend of mine who has been riding since he had his training wheels taken off his huffy :laugh: was stopped at a light one night with me and to this day he's not exactly sure what happened?? Maybe he hit an oil patch or something but he lost control of his bike coming out of the light. Couldnt have been doing more than 15mph but he went down and went down hard! Cracked his nice shiny helmet and rashed up the entire side of it bad! We were just cruising around town on the same road we've been on a thousand times before and it happened. Looking at his helmet you would have thought he went down doing 100mph! I know that if he wasnt wearing that helmet he would have been dead :fireskull: Whether its 1 block or 1 mile I always strap a lid on and the image of that helmet is always a reminder to do so
 
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