Witness

On September 11 of last week, I was rolling in the car, finishing up a lesson with a student when I witnessed a terrible motorcycle accident. A guy on a "crotch rocket" zoomed past us heading to a point where the road gently curves left. Just as he began to pass, he hit the accelerator just a bit more and, unable to match the curve, began to slide toward the curb on the right side of the road. His bike grazed the curb creating sparks and causing him to completely lose it. The motorcycle crashed into the curb, the rider was thrown and one or both of them hit a light pole there. We stopped the car and I jumped out to get on the phone with 911. The guy was seriously messed up. Other passers-by came to assist, and I relayed the instructions from the operator giving as much detail as I could. It wasn't pretty. The guy lost at least the lower half of one of his legs and who knows what kind of internal injuries he had. I've never seen anything so horrible in person. It's bad when the operator asks if you can put the guy's leg in a clean plastic bag. I don't even watch that kind of stuff on the movies. It's a real reminder of how fragile life is and how a stupid decision can change your life in a moment. I don't think I'll ever get on a motorcycle after seeing that. For those of you riding them, be smart about it. For those of us driving any sort of vehicle, stay focused and vigilant.