Topic: I won't be sleeping tonight...

[Gordon]

I just witnessed a hit-and-run on a motorcyclist. 

I was driving to work real quick to check my schedule for next week, and just as I was passing a pickup that was sitting in the turn lane the driver pulled directly in front of a guy on an R6.  It happened right in front of a club where several people were outside smoking, and a couple of them said they got the plate number from the truck, and another witness in a car sped off after the truck right after it happened, so hopefully they won't get away for long.

Luckily the guy on the bike was wearing a helmet.  Even though it got knocked off his head he didn't have any immediate signs of head injury aside from a possibly broken nose.  He was lucid and talking, and had me get his phone out of his pocket so he could call his girlfriend.  I tried to get him to hold off on doing that, but he kept trying to get the phone out himself, so I just did it for him because I didn't want him to see his leg.  I helped him lie down on the street and had my hand on the back of his head and there was no blood, but his right leg and foot were messed up. 

I left after the paramedics got there and after giving a quick statement to the police.  Now that I think about it I wish I had gotten his last name so I could check in on him. 

That could easily be me at any time.     

[Pinhead]

Wow, seems to be a lot of this going around. :/

[Gordon]

It's interesting how many more people stop to help when there's a wreck involving a motorcyclist than when it's just two cars.  I saw this wreck happen, and in the time it took me to stop and get out of my car, there was already one guy on his cell phone to 911 and two other people coming over to stop traffic.

I've witnessed several other wrecks involving only cars, and was the only person to stop and check on the people involved until the police/paramedics arrived.  I guess seeing a person lying on the ground bleeding makes it more real for some people.     

[bucky katt]

i hope to hell they throw the book at the guy, no excuse for not stopping. my prayers wre with the motorcycle rider and his family

[bwaller]

Good job Gordon.

It's always important to stay with the injured until help arrives, but people can react differently when there is blood or badly broken limbs so kudos to you.

[Inkscars]

A couple of us ride with the head mechanic at gails harley davidson buell.
The other day it was just the mech and mac, and a hispanic guy on his cell phone disregarded not one, but two horn blasts from the bikes and still side swiped the tech.
supposedly he's ok, but mac said he was pretty messed up. The guy apparently didn't pull over immediately.
someone flagged him down, he said he didn't feel anything. 
For once, the car lost, it looked worse than the rider and bike. I'm sure he only rode it out cause he knows his way around a bike.
And He wears full gear.

[my78k]

Gordon, I am sure you can call the station and tell them who you are and they can provide his name. You were a witness to the crime and all....at the very least maybe they can get your cell number to him.

As for there being no blood...well that is not always a good thing in potential head trauma. I am not trying to be ghoulish or anything or make your concern even worse but just from an educational standpoint no blood does not mean no injury. My mom's head injury (fell down a flight of stairs) had no blood and no immediate signs of anything being wrong. Luckily it happened at a friend's house who was a nurse and she made my dad get 911 involved. Turns out she had a severely fractured skull and after a few hours slipped into a coma that lasted 3 weeks and years of recovery time. Again, please understand my perspective on this....


Glad you did the right thing Gordon and stopped to assist in whatever ways you could! Far too many people just keep on driving by or worse yet...stop and stare but don't do anything! Damn rubber neckers...

Dennis

[manjisann]

I think with more bikes out on the road there is increased awareness, but there is also going to be the increased risk of accidents er negligent morons who do stupid stuff.

Gordon, good for you for stopping to help a fellow biker, and good on the crowd for getting the plate number. More and more I'm thinking I should take a basic first aid course that centers around these kinds of situations, I don't want to try and be a hero or do the job of an EMT, but knowing what to and not to do would be helpful I think. I also am thinking of putting a first aid kit stocked for this kinda crap in the trunk of my bike.

I always remember the old biker saying "There are two types of riders, those who have laid their bike down, and those that will." I think that not to freak myself out or sound fatalistic, but it always serves to reinforce the need for proper protective gear to help lessen any injury, and to remain alert while riding.

Keep the shiney side up,

Brandon

[333]

I hope he gets caught.  I saw a hit and run one night(no injuries thankfully) right in front of me.  I was stopped at a red light and it happened on the cross street, right in front of me.  The runner turned left and went down the street I had just come up.  I was on the bike, so I did a quick u-turn and followed him and got his tag number.  He would have gotten away with it if it weren't for me, there was no one else out there that night.  I went to court and the guy had a lawyer and postponed the trial.  I didn't go back, they said I wasn't needed.  The sad part was the same guy a couple years later did it again, this time killing someone.

[ColinMc]

I'm happy to hear people did something. Last time I was hit by a car the ONLY one who stopped to help was the woman who hit me. People were driving AROUND myself(laying on the ground) and my bike...as in on the grass on the shoulder. The police showed up just because they happened to be driving by at some point. Some random guy showed up later to help load my bike into a truck...but that was about it.

[tramp]

feel bad for the guy
hope they find the jerk who hit him

[BobbyR]

Gordon, after that story I doubt you are any kind of prick. Bless you Bro.

[Bill/BentON Racing]

Gordon ,Thanks from all of us who ride,we appreciate what you did.

[Gordon]

Thanks, guys.  

The image of him sitting there alone in the street with the most painful and confused look on his face that I've ever seen is burned into my mind.  I felt so bad for him right then.

Riding my bike today felt odd.  I'm always very alert and keeping an eye on what everybody else around me is doing, but today my senses were in overdrive. 

[Hush]

When I started riding at 14(Suzuki AC50) my big brother said "treat everyone as if they are crazy and you will survive...maybe" 
That stuck with me for the last 37 years of riding.
Drivers on cell phones piss me off, it's about to be made unlawful here in New Zealand.

[78 k550]

wow Gordon, sorry to hear you had to see that.
This was on your way home from Heffay's?

Paul

[sangyo soichiro]

Thanks for helping the guy out Gordon.  It's a good thing.

[azuredesign]

Thanks for stopping Gordon, I'm sure it was a comfort to him. I hope sombody'd do the same for me. I came upon a semi that had not made a sharp left turn on I-80 east in Penn a few years back, sending the passenger through the windshield. I left my family up the road and ran back, did what I could until the ambulance showed up. Even though I felt good that I had stayed with the guy, it's a very disquieting thing to see, and it stayed with me for a long time. Hope you can put it past quickly as just a good deed done.

[medic09]

Gordon, I am sure you can call the station and tell them who you are and they can provide his name. You were a witness to the crime and all....at the very least maybe they can get your cell number to him.

You can try, but my guess is they will invoke HIPAA rules and refuse to give out any info about the patient.

I'm sorry you had to witness that.  It's pretty traumatic even being witness to a trauma.