The girlfriend and I settled in early last night to start poring over the budget for a short I'm working on, drinking some beers and making merry while I had just started cooking dinner.
We heard a CRUNCH outside and then screaming, so we ran to the window and a guy was laying on the ground next to his motorcycle, screaming in pain (I will never forget the sound) and a few people were gathering. He was covered in blood and just shaking. The girl started yelling to call 911, so I did, running outside to check on him - I'm Red Cross certified w/ some first aid & safety training, so mostly I was just going to make sure nobody was grabbing him as nobody knew what kind of injuries he'd gotten.
I was on the phone with the operator as I got outside and saw him up, trying to pick up his motorcycle (thank goodness his spine wasn't broken), but that thing wasn''t going anywhere since the gasoline had all leaked out of the tank. His face was covered in blood and one of his legs wasn't quite working right. People were trying to stop him, but he kept going on about how he had to get out of there. Eventually he tossed the motorcycle and tried to run, barely managing a weak limp.
Still on the phone with the operator, I chased him up and down the street, keeping a safe distance since he'd already swung at somebody who was trying to stop him from running. To be honest, my biggest concern was his safety - he was covered in blood and from what I could tell, had a broken wrist, a busted knee and at least a dislocated shoulder if not a broken collarbone.
Finally the paramedics showed up and grabbed him. He was still belligerent as they asked him what was hurting. He was so drunk he still couldn't feel anything, but they grabbed his hand and told him to push up. One of the paramedics said, "If your wrist ISN'T broken, why can't you push my hand up?" (Yes, I stuck around to watch all this, it'll be good for my writing!) They then strapped him to a board, loaded him up on the ambulance and drove him off.
What a buzzkill. And for that, it was all over in a second. When the police threw down the powder, you could see the bike's last moments. My guess is he drunkenly weaved a little too close to the curb, overcorrected and put the bike down on its side and flipped over and off it. Busted his helmet, wrist, knee and shoulder on impact but at least he wasn't ground in to the pavement by sliding under the bike.
When they took him away, he was pretty pissed. But I bet he's got a lot to think about over the next few months. He's lucky to be alive, and I'd like to say that it all happened in that instant that he over-corrected, but really, it happened when he chose to hop on the bike when he wasn't capable of driving it. The best piece of luck for him was that no one else was hit or hurt.
Be safe out there.
BTW, when I got back, the rice had burned
The girlfriend had tried to rescue it, mixed in the water, then forgot to put in the seasoning. Worst dinner ever.
We heard a CRUNCH outside and then screaming, so we ran to the window and a guy was laying on the ground next to his motorcycle, screaming in pain (I will never forget the sound) and a few people were gathering. He was covered in blood and just shaking. The girl started yelling to call 911, so I did, running outside to check on him - I'm Red Cross certified w/ some first aid & safety training, so mostly I was just going to make sure nobody was grabbing him as nobody knew what kind of injuries he'd gotten.
I was on the phone with the operator as I got outside and saw him up, trying to pick up his motorcycle (thank goodness his spine wasn't broken), but that thing wasn''t going anywhere since the gasoline had all leaked out of the tank. His face was covered in blood and one of his legs wasn't quite working right. People were trying to stop him, but he kept going on about how he had to get out of there. Eventually he tossed the motorcycle and tried to run, barely managing a weak limp.
Still on the phone with the operator, I chased him up and down the street, keeping a safe distance since he'd already swung at somebody who was trying to stop him from running. To be honest, my biggest concern was his safety - he was covered in blood and from what I could tell, had a broken wrist, a busted knee and at least a dislocated shoulder if not a broken collarbone.
Finally the paramedics showed up and grabbed him. He was still belligerent as they asked him what was hurting. He was so drunk he still couldn't feel anything, but they grabbed his hand and told him to push up. One of the paramedics said, "If your wrist ISN'T broken, why can't you push my hand up?" (Yes, I stuck around to watch all this, it'll be good for my writing!) They then strapped him to a board, loaded him up on the ambulance and drove him off.
What a buzzkill. And for that, it was all over in a second. When the police threw down the powder, you could see the bike's last moments. My guess is he drunkenly weaved a little too close to the curb, overcorrected and put the bike down on its side and flipped over and off it. Busted his helmet, wrist, knee and shoulder on impact but at least he wasn't ground in to the pavement by sliding under the bike.
When they took him away, he was pretty pissed. But I bet he's got a lot to think about over the next few months. He's lucky to be alive, and I'd like to say that it all happened in that instant that he over-corrected, but really, it happened when he chose to hop on the bike when he wasn't capable of driving it. The best piece of luck for him was that no one else was hit or hurt.
Be safe out there.
BTW, when I got back, the rice had burned
The girlfriend had tried to rescue it, mixed in the water, then forgot to put in the seasoning. Worst dinner ever.
