DAY I STARED DEATH IN FACE
Bike rider describes how he got hit by a car
MOTORBIKE rider Joshua Smith always rides as if he’s about to be hit by a car.
Earlier this year it came true when a car pulled out of a side street on the Isle of Capri and sent him flying.
Mr Smith was riding to a job site at the Isle of Capri around midday when he was hit . The 36-year-old Pimpama resident said he was lucky to be alive after he was thrown into the windscreen and across the roof to the road on the other side of the car.
“It was pretty intense,” he told the Bulletin. “(The driver) left me no place to go. I just hit the front door-side half-panel … and clipped the roof.
“I hit the windscreen … and lost consciousness, smashed my arm up.
“I’m lucky to be alive.”
Mr Smith is now taking legal action against the driver after being unable to work for nearly six months.
He has issues with his shoulder and neck, couldn’t use his thumb for a time and had a 35cm plate inserted into his arm
He is unable to lift anything heavier than 5 kgs and that includes his four-year-old child.
“It’s pretty depressing,” he said. “I can’t go to work, I can’t mow the lawn, can’t open a jar — my partner has to do it for me. You don’t feel you’re providing for your family.”
Kimberly Allen, Shine Lawyers’ general manager, said families were heavily affected by car accidents.
“In a matter of seconds their plans, goals and hopes for the future are changed forever, and adapting to that is a significant challenge,” she said.