I'm going down my list of web forums, and I just sort of noticed that Airline Pilot Central doesn't have an "Off Topic" or OT forum. I'd normally post it there, or not at all, but it occurs to me that many of us that post on this forum own high-performance land vehicles. The following story happened to me today, and it makes me think twice about how I drive my Porsche 928. Here it is:

I watched a man die today~

Here's the fact: I watched a man drive a Suzuki GSXR-1300 Hayabusa into an Acura TL sedan in Plantation, Florida, a suburb of Fort Lauderdale. I'm still freaking out. I saw his bike. I read his shirt. I looked him in the eyes sitting at the stoplight 45 secods before he died. Two minutes later I was gauging the distance between his body and his right leg- it was about 39 inches, or a proper meter.

Hmm. Did you know that human blood kind of looks like watercolor paint when it is in a bottle, but if you see an actual torn body like I saw today...that the blood and tissue kind of looks like acrylic paints? The blood was very much more opaque than I thought it would be.

Here's what happened: Me and my significant other went to the Broward mall today at 11:30 AM to look for draperies for my room. I fly nights for Fedex, and my house's shades, though pretty cool...are worthless overall. I need "room darkening" shades, so that I can sleep during the day, and we left our home for the JCPenney's out there for their curtain center, which is pretty much the place the find these things. We found the drapes, put in the order, and then climbed into the Ford Aerostar minivan that I own as well as my 928S2. Well, this morning I not only washed the Aerostar, but I waxed it with Rejex polish. This stuff is an aircraft polish, and you -CAN'T BELIEVE- how this stuff works! My 928 is almost black, but the previous owner had it repainted in a color that I call "UPS truck brown but in metallic", but despite the great way the Rejex gently shows off the metallic on my 928, it produces an Aerostar that is properly the star of the parking lot! The minivan positively glows with this finish. It is amazing how effective this wax is. What's more, it goes on and off in about 40 minutes, excluding the roof.

We spent our hour at JCPenney, and set sail down Broward boulevard eastward toward I-95 in said shining van. Well, about two miles down the street, I noticed a guy show up next to me in a GSXR-1300 Hayabusa. I rode motorcycle for years [Honda CB-750-four's], but recently sold my '76 since I wasn't using it and Fort Lauderdale is SUCH a sh*tty place to ride! Anyway, my partner was driving, and when the bike rode up next to me, I noted his jeans and his mesh shirt, which was green and similar to one that I had at home. Amazingly, this guy was wearing a helmet- something that I remember approving of, as I sat there at the light. Eastbound Broward boulevard is three lanes wide- I was in the middle lane, first in line. This guy was in the far right lane, but behind a Honda car.

-I remember as the light turned red, hearing him come along side, downshifting, and looking over at the bike. As he selected each lower gear, the nose of the bike dipped. Since it was a Hayabusa, the light on the nose is very vertical- the larger headlight above the lower- and I registered this as I sat in the right seat of the Aerostar. I was thinking about something else, but I remember noting the fact that he had a helmet on, and that it had a cool pattern of green and blue that kind of matched his bike. My minivan has Belgian flags on the rear, a Belgian flag on the front, but nothing on the sides. Most Aerostars have stripes, but I've found that the car looks best with nothing, kind of like a 928. I installed a tiny sticker on the front fender that has the Belgian flag and a tiny EU flag as well. It looks like a side turn signal. While I was looking at the bike over my shoulder, I noted that this guy was looking at my van. I'm pretty sure he was checking out the stickers and look overall, his turned helmet proving this. He kept looking at the back end of my van.

The light turned green, and this man now had about 20 seconds of life left. My friend accelerated the van forward as normal, the car to our right dawdled...and a few seconds later I heard the Hayabusa's exhaust pipes wail. He accelerated around the car to my right, and proceded in the far right lane of three to the east. I remember watching with satisfaction as the 'Busa accelerated, one of the fastest bikes in the world. I estimate that he achieved between 100 and 120 miles per hour in the half mile or so before the next intersection. That's just f*cking great-

The rest is now in slow motion: I watch him accelerating, I see the white late-model Acura TL sedan attempt to make a left turn, I figure "No...he's way away from the Acura, he'll go behind it...NO...NO...NO!!!! ****! ::impact:: parts go flying, and there is a huge explosion of steam as the coolant explodes everywhere. We were about 1000 feet away, and we rolled up the accident, parts strewn everywhere along the road. I couldn't believe what I was seeing, and my Belgian was screaming and didn't know what to do. I had left my cellphone at home, so I used hers and called 911. We pulled up to the curb about 100 feet beyond the accident scene....right next to the body of the rider. He was laying face-down next to a park bench, and I called 911 while stepping out of my van and walking over to him. I put my hand on his neck and felt for a pulse but couldn't find anything, all while talking to the 911 person. I hadn't noticed, but apparently, when he hit the car he flew through the air and hit either the light pole or the park bench that he was laying under; some guy came up behind me and grabbed my shoulder and said to me "his right leg has been ripped off- it is right there under the bush. Make sure you tell them about it". I looked and sure enough, though he had his helmet on, he was missing his right rear buttock and everything else.

I remember calmly thinking "Huh; human blood isn't like water-colors, it is really a lot like acrylic paints. It's very opaque and almost looks fake. Wow- look at that- you can see some of his intestines!" Did I mention that the whole time I was online to the 911 person? She's like "Can you do CPR on this person?"

The weird part about this is that though I have CPR training, I never thought of this. We stopped the van, and immediately called 911. We were the first people there, and this guy wasn't moving at all. I had no notion at all to try this until she said it [shock...] to me. I told her that he was wearing a helmet and bleeding from his face, which was pointed down, and that I know that you shouldn't remove a helmet from a motorcyclist who's been involved in an accident, since you might destroy his nerve column if he has broken vertebrae. I didn't know what to do, but this guy wasn't breathing and his heart wasn't beating. The 911 person was demanding information and about then I heard the ambulance coming, so I talked for a moment longer over the broken body.

The paramedics arrived and quite simply brushed me away. The man died; They immediately covered him with a yellow tarpaulin.

A minor concern in my part: Why didn't I throw the cellphone down and attempt CPR as soon as the van stopped? Granted, in this situation, it would have meant nothing since this man's body had been destroyed by impacts with handlebars, light poles, and the park bench he wound up under. I don't know. It made more sense at the time to call 911 and talk. FOR YOUR REFERENCE: Please get out of your car and make physical contact with accident victims. Don't stand there on your f*cking phone.

What do you do after such a situation? I didn't know if I was supposed to make a statement to the police or not, I almost left, but when a cop did finally come to me, he told me that they indeed needed my statement.

=======

What can we all learn from this:

-Racing on public streets DESTROYS LIVES. A fast run by a motorcyclist on Broward Boulevard has destroyed one life for sure, and probably several others. The woman driving the white Acura was moving fine; I didn't check on her. Her car was DONE- I think the right front wheel was in front of the steering wheel when all was said and done, but I didn't get a look at the damage. How will the person in the white car feel?

-I've done the same damn thing on both 928 and motorcycle. As soon as we pulled away from the light, I was waiting the the 'Busa to go flying past. Shure enough, about 3 seconds after the light changed, he went past us with the grim reaper on back holding his waist. I should go to that intersection and take a picture tomorrow; you'd probably see this stretch from the windshied of your fast vehicle and think "hmm...why not?"

Third: I'm pretty messed up tonight. I've seen about three bad accidents in my life, but this is the first time I've watched a human being die. I was literally checking out this Hayabusa and the guy riding it 30 seconds before both were destroyed, and It's bothering me. My significant other has been in tears all night, it's ridiculous. Nobody needs this, so please: Think again if you decide to drive like an idiot!

N

 

Doesn't sound like CPR would have mattered with that much blood loss--unless you've been trained in serious medicine there's probably nothing you could have done.

Every time I get ready to replace my bike I hear of or drive by a horrific motorcycle accident--I'll just have to wait a while longer.

 

Normy,

Tough night! Have a drink! Get some sleep! You didn't do anything wrong!

Like you, I've done stupid stuff too. We've gotten wiser! Unfortunately, he didn't!

What abut the folks in the Acura? I assume they were okay?

 

First, never assume someone else has called 911. Call them and give them as much information as you can. Location and direction of travel on a given road. When in doubt report the injuries as serious/life threatening.

Second, assess the situation. This coincides with the information that the 911 operator will need. Is just an ambulance needed? Are there spilled fluids, downed power lines or fire hazards that would also necessitate fire equipment? Are the victims easily accessible or are they trapped/pinned? How safe is the situation? Part of assessing may be to keep others away to prevent one emergency from escalating into multiple ones.

Give your name, info and statement to a police officer. If you cannot stay, give that to a witness who can and have them pass that on to the police so they can get your statement later. It may also help to write down what you saw as quick as you can.

 

I moved this to hangar talk.

Don't screw around on motorcycles and don't screw around with airplanes...

 

Thanx, I do neither. I just didn't know where to put it-

 

Probably good to talk it out. Maybe you should knock back something to help sleep tonight.

Not near as tragic, but I've run into the CPR vice Neck injury quandry before. As an Ice hockey coach I had a player knocked out head-first into the boards. I was the first adult to him and he was face down with a helmet on and not apparently breathing. I felt I had to move him to establish an airway as that was the more important problem at the moment. As I rolled him over he spasmed and started breathing on his own (very reminiscent of when Paul Kariya was knocked out by a hit in the playoffs a couple of years ago). He got away with a concussion and an afternoon in the hospital.

I'm no doctor, but I think if someone's not breathing they could be dead in 6-9 minutes so neck and back injuries must take a back seat for the moment. Not that you can't try to minimize vertebrae movement as you establish an airway. I'd never considered this before it happened to me. Maybe someone with a real medical background could comment.

In your case, I don't think it would have mattered what you did. Sorry you had to be in that position. Many people wouldn't have even gotten out of their car.

 

Normy,

The rider was missing a limb and there was no way that he would have survived that much blood loss. CPR would not have helped much and as stated if his injuries looked that severe they could have made the situation worse. I have no doubt that what you saw was beyond horriffic. What's sad is that many people wouldn't have done what you did, they would have simply kept driving. Don't question your actions. You did something commendable. If you're having trouble with this it wouldn't be a bad idea to seek professional help.

I watched a semi roll over 10 cars in highschool. 15 people were killed and the fire from the semi was so hot that the paint on my car bubbled nearly 300 feet from the accident. We ran out of class to see if we could help and the next 30 or so minutes are etched in my mind forever. A couple of the cars were so bad that you couldn't see anybody in them. A couple on the other hand weren't quite as bad. We couldn't get anybody out. They had the highway closed for a day after that just to clear out the wreckage and parked semis along both sides to keep prying eyes away. They went a step further and wouldn't let any news helicopters in the area (STL's surface boundaries). It's something that I'm reminded of on a frequent basis and I go out of my way to avoid that stretch of interstate even though it's been redesigned as a result of this accident.

 

I think definitely helps to talk it out. A few years back I was at the gun range and a guy attempted suicide in the stall next to me. He didn't succeed, believe it or not, but it was still fairly traumatizing and it wasn't nearly as bad as what you saw. I was more disturbed by the whole thing than I thought I was. It wasn't until after a few days I realized I was normal again.

Also, there's no shame in talking to a professional. I was fortunate enough (because he had great experience) to fly with the CA of a flight where a ramper walk into the spinning prop. He said he knew it wasn't his fault (which is wasn't) but he realized that he needed help.

 

RIP to the rider, and Normy I'm sorry you had to see such a bad thing due to someone elses' stupidity. I'm a sportbike rider, and yeah the temptation is always there, but there are so many of us that actually restrain and don't ride like hellions in traffic. Unfortunately, there's always the few that make the headlines. It's just like when an airplane goes down for whatever reason. 99% of the time it's negative coverage.

Ride/Fly Safe everyone.