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Motorcycle Accident and Aftermath

6K views 54 replies 27 participants last post by  MCPFB 
#1 ·
My wife, her friend, and me were out on a motorcycle cruise September 13th enjoying the beautiful weather we had up here in Minnesota. We were intending on having a day of riding and a night of fun. Jozey, my wife, was riding her 08 cbr while her friend and I were taking my 09. Luckily I had an extra helmet so we all were protected. I, in fact gave up my motorcycle jacket to my wife so her friend could wear hers...I just wore a sweatshirt since we were just going for a ride nothing special...

While we were only out for maybe 20 minutes at the time, we chose to take a very scenic road that goes past several small ponds and a beautiful apple orchard. It's a back road that has quite a few small hills and valleys with a TON of hidden driveways and intersections. I've always warned my wife to go the speed limit of 45 mph because of these dangers.

We just got pasted the orchard and came over a hill to which had a close intersection after it. I saw a red F150 truck to my right on the gravel road looking to cross the intersection. He of course has a stop sign and I noticed him but thought he saw us. I of course maintained my speed but kept my eye on him. Not even a second later he pulled out in front of us. I immediately got on my brakes but knew it wasn't going to be enough. Right before we get to the truck I grab my brake even harder to flip the bike as I institutionally didn't want to hit the truck. The nose of my bike exploded on impact with the pavement and my back tire and taillight hit the truck. I don't remember hearing any sounds, hitting the ground, sliding, nor the bike landing on top of me. My wife came over the hill and saw the accident and braked really hard to avoid us. She ended up endo'ing and the bike landed on top of her as well.

The most tragic and upsetting part of the accident is my passenger was flung in to the truck and hit her head really hard. She did not respond to me when I got to her and did not have a pulse. I did chest compressions and everything I could do before an ambulance arrived. They declared her dead within several minutes after EMT had arrived. My wife and I were off and away in an ambulance soon after that...

May she rest in peace as my wife and I are thinking about her and her family and friends every day. This has been such a hard thing to swallow and cannot even begin to fathom the pain and suffering her family has been put through...

Woman killed in Minnetrista crash of 2 motorcycles, pickup was 21-year-old from Minneapolis | Star Tribune
 
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#3 ·
We are both out of the hospital. My wife has her pelvis break from the left side of her sacrum so she is in a bed until our next apoitment on October 7th. She will probably have surgery on her right clavicle that broke in 5 pieces later that week too. I got lucky and didn't break a damn thing. I still have some pretty bad deep bruising in my leg and my ribs but fuck I can live with that.

I am just so damn torn up that this happened because we were just cruising. My passenger hasn't been on a bike in years and I could tell the moment we left our driveway. Ever night I relive everything and also still think about what I could have done differently.
 
#5 ·
Ohhh, man. This is really sad. I can't imagine what you are going through. Try to focus on healing up, and helping your wife get through this. Sounds like there was nothing you could of done about the situation. DON'T blame yourself for this. Good luck, and visit the forum if you need to vent, or talk.
 
#8 ·
Thanks everyone. This community is one of the best.

Of course its a lot to think about and I don't think there's answer to how I got away with no major injuries. I was extremely sore for days afterwards but I stayed with my wife and made sure she ate every meal and stayed hydrated. Man she's a trooper and was able to stand on one leg 4 days after the accident. I'm so proud of her.

The hill/crest that we came over is really hard to see oncoming traffic from his vantage point. His statement was he stopped looked both ways and didnt see us coming at all. He probably looked but looked left first and right last which is why he probably didn't see us. I swear as I came over the hill he knew we were there.

I always told my wife to look at every cager as if they're out to kill you...I didn't obide to that in this situation.
 
#9 ·
You'll go over it a million times in your head. But you did your best man. You shared your gear, encouraged your wife to take it easy on those roads. You kept your eyes peeled and tried your hardest. Sounds to me you did admirably. Try not to be too hard on yourself if at all possible.
 
#10 ·
Man!!! I'm soooo sorry to here this.
I can't imagine what y'all (you your wife and the family of the friend) are experiencing. It sucks that theses things happen when we aren't taking risk or riding aggressively. I want to thank you sharing the story, I definitely feel like this story will make me think about the risk more often. Hope y'all have a best recovery that can both physically and emotionally.

Sent from Motorcycle.com Free App
 
#11 ·
I'm sure for the rest of my life I will always think about what if's from that day...It's just hard not to.

I definitely have a different look at street riding now. I wanna say it was a freak deal because I rode the way I like almost everyday this summer with no issues. Of course this was me picking my corners with good vision to ride on. Regardless I am looking for a reason to keep one or both bikes and turning on in to a track only bike.

After seeing what I saw, like is just too fucking fragile.
 
#16 ·
drbyers my helmet didn't make it!
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!

Well, at least it served it's purpose. I've graduated to an Arai RX-Q for this very reason.

Try on an Arai and see how the fit is. It's pretty amazing on my noggin. Racer-fit and extremely comfortable. Can't explain it. The cheek pads have like two-stage padding to be extremely snug, yet extremely comfotable too.
 
#17 ·
That's a rough situation to face, losing a friend and having you an your wife end up in emergency room because of a freak accident...Very sorry for you and wife. All of us who ride do it because we enjoy it and do so knowing the risk we take on each time we grab the seat, unfortunately, no matter how hard we try, there are some situations which we cannot control or anticipate. This just reinforces the fact the cagers either do not look for cycles, and/or do not care. Please be careful out there guys and girls.
 
#18 ·
Terrible situation for everyone involved.

I lost a friend to a motorcycle accident a few years back and that really messed my head up. I was not with him when it happened but things like this teach you that life is fleeting... forever moving.

Enjoy every second that you have.

I don't know how much riding is part of your life. But I do know if you love it, don't let this stop you from enjoying it. Life is too short and when it's your time it's your time, so get everything out of it you can.

I cannot imagine how I could handle your situation. I wish you, your wife and your friends family the best.
 
#20 ·
Thank you everyone. I really love riding more than anything else. I grew up a dirt track racer and car lover but once I got on a bike nothing could compare. It really has been my life the last two years and I don't wanna give it up. I feel selfish for saying that after all this but its where my heart lies...

My wife is only giving me an option of riding on the track from now on and she still would rather me just hang my helmet up. I have all my bike options in my "2009 dyno results" thread if you guys are willing to share your input.

http://www.1000rr.net/forums/1000rr-mods-upgrades/182593-2009-cbr1000rr-dyno-results.html

I think the bike is worth saving but I'd need new forks, subframe, and track plastics. I'm really weighing all the options like taking the money or keeping the bike and rebuilding it.

If I do race it would be in remembrance of Sami. She was very smart, witty, and wasn't afraid to give anyone a hard time. Shit we just celebrated her 21st birthday the end of August...
 
#23 ·
This whole thing will be a long process. The state patrol are reconstruction the crash scene as it involved a fatality and they won't have the full report put together until December. Until then we are slapped in the face with damages and medical bills. Thank god for health insurance but by no means do I have a shining star policy through my employer.
 
#25 ·
Sucks but glad all three of you guys didn't die because of someone else's fault. It's still terrible the passenger died but you did everything right. It was the driver of the trucks fault. One doesn't just pull out in front of any moving vehicle. Sounds like it could of been a semi coming down the road and he would of pulled out in front of it.

Glad you and your wife are okay and send my condolences to the family & friends.

take care,
 
#26 ·
Sorry to hear this tragis news.

I can understand what you are going through as well as your wife. The death of a friend makes everything worse. It'll take time to heal emotionally, so give it some time, get your bike fixed back to original condition then decide what to do.

I had an accident years ago, ending up beneath a car coming the other way. I never considered giving my bike up, but I wasn't married and didn't think I had anybody but myself to worry about. I was wrong though, because my family was worried...it's even more tough to make these types of decisions when you consider those around you.

Good luck with your decision. I hope the both of you heal physically, emotionally and financially.
 
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#30 ·
I can understand what you are going through as well as your wife. The death of a friend makes everything worse. It'll take time to heal emotionally, so give it some time, get your bike fixed back to original condition then decide what to do.

I had an accident years ago, ending up beneath a car coming the other way. I never considered giving my bike up, but I wasn't married and didn't think I had anybody but myself to worry about. I was wrong though, because my family was worried...it's even more tough to make these types of decisions when you consider those around you.

Good luck with your decision. I hope the both of you heal physically, emotionally and financially.
The insurance company ended up totaling the bike so I am not sure what I want to do now. Like you said, it is even harder to decide when you feel you are not only making a decision for myself but for family and friends as well. I am stuck in a rut and can't decide on what to do yet. I have a mental and logical decision to make.
 
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