Crashing Pine Mountain
Posted: Sat Mar 04, 2006 6:21 pm
Today was supposed to be a good ride for me and some friends headed up to Atlanta for the night. Instead it turned into a lesson in field expedient emergency aid. The route was to be simple - US 27 out of Columbus, GA to GA 190 (Pine Mountain), ride GA 190 until it hit GA 36 and ran into US 19 north into I-75 into Atlanta.
Roughly 12 miles into GA 190 I ride into a decreasing radius left turn with an elevation change - uphill into the turn, downhill out of it. I checked my rearview after my front end bobbled a bit exiting the turn just in time to see my friends Mark and Sarah lowside and go off the road. The u-turn skills I honed in the MSF ERC kicked in, along with a healthy dose of adrenaline. The SV stood up quickly, slowed down and whipped around and I twisted the grip to get back to them.
If I said I didn’t think Sarah was dead while I was riding back to them, I would be lying to you. All I saw was her laying face up and not moving, with Mark standing above her looking confused. Luckily I was quite wrong and she was just laying there trying not to pass out. After convincing myself that nothing was broken, I helped her get out of the helmet and jacket so she could breathe.
While this is going on, I realize I don’t have any first aid supplies with me. My tank bag had the following inside:
* 1 long sleeved shirt
* A toothbrush and toothpaste
* Deoderant
* My Digital RebelXT and lenses
* Gerber multitool and a whet stone
None of that is going to fix a broken person. Clearly I need help because I have bleeding friends - so I turn to the road and attempt to flag down fellow motorcyclists. To my surprise, and quite honestly disgust, no less than 10 motorcyclists rode right past us looking at the wreckage and going on their merry way. One guy did stop and ask if we needed help - in the course of small talk we find out he’s stationed at Ft. Benning as well, A. Co 3BN 75RGR RGT. That’s right, we just happened to end up with a Ranger to help us out. He didn’t really have any first aid gear either, but he did have a clean undershirt, and water - which was better than I could do with just a clean shirt and no water.
The two of us cut the shirt up, washed some wounds off, and applied our makeshift field dressings while another family - apparently parents of a Boy Scout - pulled over to give us water, and call for more help. In the end four LEOs were on the scene, an ambulance, a fire truck, four first responders, and the medical examiner. Apparently the word was that two riders crashed head-on. I guess someone assumed that since my bike was parked facing Mark’s bike that we’d crashed into each other.
Anyway, Mark and Sarah are both ok. I’m quite certain neither is feeling great right now, but it could have been much worse. Both have banged extremities on their left sides. Mark’s forearm is pretty much all road rash right now, and his knee is pretty skinned up too. Sarah’s left hand is fairly well beaten up, and her knee has seen better days.
Tomorrow I’ll post pictures of the bike, and their helmets. If there’s any point to this it’s simply WEAR YOUR GEAR.
Roughly 12 miles into GA 190 I ride into a decreasing radius left turn with an elevation change - uphill into the turn, downhill out of it. I checked my rearview after my front end bobbled a bit exiting the turn just in time to see my friends Mark and Sarah lowside and go off the road. The u-turn skills I honed in the MSF ERC kicked in, along with a healthy dose of adrenaline. The SV stood up quickly, slowed down and whipped around and I twisted the grip to get back to them.
If I said I didn’t think Sarah was dead while I was riding back to them, I would be lying to you. All I saw was her laying face up and not moving, with Mark standing above her looking confused. Luckily I was quite wrong and she was just laying there trying not to pass out. After convincing myself that nothing was broken, I helped her get out of the helmet and jacket so she could breathe.
While this is going on, I realize I don’t have any first aid supplies with me. My tank bag had the following inside:
* 1 long sleeved shirt
* A toothbrush and toothpaste
* Deoderant
* My Digital RebelXT and lenses
* Gerber multitool and a whet stone
None of that is going to fix a broken person. Clearly I need help because I have bleeding friends - so I turn to the road and attempt to flag down fellow motorcyclists. To my surprise, and quite honestly disgust, no less than 10 motorcyclists rode right past us looking at the wreckage and going on their merry way. One guy did stop and ask if we needed help - in the course of small talk we find out he’s stationed at Ft. Benning as well, A. Co 3BN 75RGR RGT. That’s right, we just happened to end up with a Ranger to help us out. He didn’t really have any first aid gear either, but he did have a clean undershirt, and water - which was better than I could do with just a clean shirt and no water.
The two of us cut the shirt up, washed some wounds off, and applied our makeshift field dressings while another family - apparently parents of a Boy Scout - pulled over to give us water, and call for more help. In the end four LEOs were on the scene, an ambulance, a fire truck, four first responders, and the medical examiner. Apparently the word was that two riders crashed head-on. I guess someone assumed that since my bike was parked facing Mark’s bike that we’d crashed into each other.
Anyway, Mark and Sarah are both ok. I’m quite certain neither is feeling great right now, but it could have been much worse. Both have banged extremities on their left sides. Mark’s forearm is pretty much all road rash right now, and his knee is pretty skinned up too. Sarah’s left hand is fairly well beaten up, and her knee has seen better days.
Tomorrow I’ll post pictures of the bike, and their helmets. If there’s any point to this it’s simply WEAR YOUR GEAR.
