Ducati Monster Forum

So I had an exciting day. :P

Rode into Little Rock, Arkansas today. Going through town and some woman darts out in front of me at an intersection. Too close to her, and no room to go anywhere, so I brake.

Not quite enough space for that, either. Impact.

I'm on the ground, and I can't breathe, and I can't stand. Soon there's a half dozen folks around me, and I lay on my back, and stare at the sun. I get a ride in the happy-times van!

Incidentally, I was in town to visit a cousin and she works at the hospital I went to, so I got to see her sooner than expected!

Damage report:

The 996:
I'm not 100%, since I haven't been to see it yet, but I do recall there were pieces of it scattered around. I assume it's toast.

The me:
I wanted to get a picture of my leg so I could gross everybody out, but it wasn't around at the moment. I needed stitches in the muscles, on the top, and in a layer in between. It's 20 stitches up top, and I'm not sure how many below.

I have two vertebrae that compressed together, and one other with a small fracture.

My leg, and back hurt. A lot.

Wear your gear folks. If I hadn't been decked out I don't think I'd be here. :-\

Damn.

Well, that really sucks.  How did you manage to get online this fast with those injuries?  Glad you are ok.  The bike has insurance and can be replaced but it's not so easy if you get "toasted". 

Ask for your pain meds EARLY and OFTEN.  Don't assume any med is the right one either.

man... another rider down.  Wish both you and the 996 a quick recovery!

Sorry to hear that :(

Hope you heal up quickly.

Damn, I hate hearing this.  To a complete and speedy recovery [drink]

Holy cow!!  Shame about the bike, but as said earlier, the most important thing is that you are still around and as ok as can be.  Good thing you had all your kit on. 

wow, sorry to hear about your accident. totally her fault huh. didn't see you? did you have your baffles in ;)
hey curious, how did you cut your leg open so bad?
was it a straight T-bone...
our curious minds want to know more. especially if you are on percocet... makes the stories better :D

heal well. and soon. and i hope your insurance is faster than mine :(

Heal quick man! glad to hear your okay, now post some disgusting pics up!

That sucks to hear man... glad you are (mostly) ok but that's just terrible about the bike... there no words  :'(

Damn man. Glad your alright, that whats the most important. Hope you recover soon.


Jerrsun

wait

you said the leg wasn't around?

is it still attatched to you?

The upbeat tone of your post had me believing for a second that the accident itself wasn't too serious.

Damn man, I am sorry to hear that you went down so hard, and under those circumstances. That is just a damn shame.

Heal well. Sorry to hear about the crash.

heal well,, get up soon on 2 wheels
hope pain will ease soon,, or is it that u get used to it?! `` because i did

Very sorry to hear that, heal up soon [thumbsup]

It's still early and I'm just now getting my coffee, but until about halfway through the page to realize that the woman that "darted out in front of you" was actually in a vehicle.  I kept running through situations where some random lady on foot could cause that much damage to you and the bike.  Hey, I didn't say it made sense.....

Sorry to hear about the crash man.  We had a local guy swerve mid corner to avoid a raccoon and put around 3k worth of damage on his bike earlier this week.  Shit's never easy to read.  Heal quickly.

sorry to hear of your wreck, heal quick. I was hoping to be the last one of us to wreck.

 Glad you're still with us and lucid. Here's to a quick recovery of both body and bike!  [beer]

Damn it [bang]  At least your mostly okay. 

Terrible.  Godspeed to your recovery.

Having T-Boned the side of a car once I know only too well how much it can hurt.

Get well soon.

Heal quickly.

Heal quick!!!!!

Thanks for the well wishes, everybody. I feel worse than I did right after the wreck (day after is always brutal, eh?), but I'm hoping that tomorrow brings better things.

I still haven't been to see the bike. Since it was my only transportation, I haven't had a good way to get to the lot where it is, and survey the damage. I assume insurance is going to total it out, though.

By and large my gear held up well. I'm not sure what cut up my leg, but I do know that it went right through the textile pants. I don't know if leather pants would have held up much better, or not. I'll be doing a 'gear that survived/failed' post when I get back home.

They didn't keep me overnight. I guess with the hospital crowding as it is, if you're not going to die they're going to ship you home.

I'm still here and singing the song of the sausage creature, so I'm counting my blessings. If I'd not been wearing my full kit, I figure I could have been much worse. And looking at my helmet, I figure if I'd not been wearing that I'd have been going home if a box. Certainly gives you a different perspective on things... but I guess you can't dwell on these things, or you'll be paralyzed by fear. In short, I'll be back in the saddle when I'm physically able to bend my leg.

So far I haven't even had to endure an "I told you those things were dangerous" lecture from anybody. I'm pleasantly surprised.

I'm trying to find a lesson in this, since I'm sure there is one. After all, the best lessons are the most painful ones, right? I'm not sure what I could have done differently, though. My bike is (was?) red, loud, and I was running both headlights. I wasn't speeding, and I don't think I could have successfully dodged the car, as I probably would have ran head on into parked cars. I guess sometimes you just get the shit end of the stick?

Anyway... I think I'm rambling. Unfortunately I don't have a pre-stitchup picture to post, as that would have been pretty impressive, but I do have some post-stitchup shots that I'll share when I get on a computer that features a card reader.

The only thing you maybe can think about is this.  If it were possible for you to see her approaching sooner would/could you have slowed as a precautionary measure.  I dont know if it was even possible for you to have seen her coming but I know some side roads/parking lots give you a clear view a ways before you get there.  If I see someone approaching to turn in I always slow just in case.  You may not have even been able to see though if the sight line wasnt clear enough.  Sometimes there really is nothing you can do and as the saying goes "shit happens".

+11ty billion

Get Well Soon.

Everyone was stopped at the intersection as I approached. She was, too.

She wasn't turning, either. She just ambled out into the intersection like she thought the light had turned green. :P

Also, the promised gore. All apologies for not getting a before-stitching shot.

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v232/zarn02/leg.jpg)

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v232/zarn02/bike1.jpg)

that sucks :(  heals fast for both you and the bike!

I don't know what picture is worse, the leg or the bike.   :'(

Hope you're a quick healer...I'm a slow healer and still sore from my run in with a deer back in May...Like others have said, you are here, and will heal (+1 for wearing full gear)....now  you can go on-line and look at which bike you might like to get next, as your bike doesn't look like she will make it, I'm sorry...

Keep us posted on the recovery.

thanks for sharing your story and pics man.  being alive is good.  clearly you're one tough SOB as my uncle would say.  [beer] [beer] here's to a speedy recovery and future rides without cars gettin in  your way.  be well.

sorry 2 hear
heal fast

Sorry about the injuries to both you and your bike ( :'( poor 996)
Hard to see what you could have possibly done differently. Hope you heal fast.

The bike for sure! Oh, it's terrible, almost like a decapitated body! My lord, I think I feel sick just looking at it.  :'(

I hope the insurance company doesn't total you or the bike. From the damage you pictured I'd at least buy the bike back and rebuild.  ;)


Heal fast.  [beer]

Happy and healthy thoughts sent your way man. 

 [beer] --Stu

What's the sausage creature and why are you singing about it?

http://www.latexnet.org/~csmith/sausage.html (http://www.latexnet.org/~csmith/sausage.html)

I've often wondered if Hunter meant that the bike was the Sausage Creature (an Italian variant of "Rice Burner", or if he meant that the Sausage Creature was that demon lurking out there ready to turn US into sausage.

I've concluded that the latter is that case.

That sounds familiar and all the more frightening. I had the very same thing happen to me many years ago... but I was on a moped and only doing 20 mph... I landed on the hood of the driver's car and was lucky to walk away unscathed. The woman driving told the police that she had no idea why she had pulled out, she just "spaced it." When I took the MSF course and they told us to watch the front wheel/hub of all vehicles approaching our path of travel, I wondered why this simple technique wasn't part of every driver's ed course. Works just as well in a cage, provided you can actually SEE their front wheel which of course is not always the case. But that powerful tip has saved me on a few occasions.

I have a buddy who rides a HD Sportster who just went down on gravel when an elderly driver did the same to him a few weeks ago. He was wearing a helmet but no leathers and is still sporting some major road rash.

Sorry to hear of your misfortune mate, wishing you a speedy recovery.