So we went to the restaurant, and celebrated the joy of graduation, the culmination of hard work and great accomplishment… with that accident visibly shaking both of us up. Later on the news the report was grim. The man on the harley died at the scene, his passenger life flighted to metro. (Having worked for the trauma unit at metro that is a very bad prognosis, meaning the injuries were beyond the capacity of Parma Hospital, a quarter of a mile away. ) By the way, there is law about trauma injuries… did you know that there is a scale of detrmining the level of trauma, and what can be handled at a community hospital, and when they have to hand the patient off to a more capable trauma service? Indeed, my boss when i worked for the trauma service was instrumental in educating legislators on the need to adequitely respond to severe injury, and reduce the mortality of them. Trauma centers are actually well equipped for every known injury with a team on duty 24/7 to rapidly respond, address and work to save these injured people.
Well, here it is, a few days later and there is still a strong sense of sadness over such a bad crash. Was it texting while driving? was it just recklessness, or was there something else going on in the car of the driver that hit the motorcycle? We will probably never know. But it is a cautionary reminder to be careful out there, drive defensively, always aware of your surroundings, and if you are on a motorcycle please wear a helmet, make sure you have leathers on, and be careful.
the news report said the motorcycle rider was only 32 years old. Tragic.