Almost killed By a reckless Biker
Georgina was left with lifechanging injuries
Revving the engine, my bike roared into life. Aged 16, I’d just got my provisional motorbike licence. As soon as I was old enough, I’d begged my mum Stephanie, 48, to let me have one.
‘They’re too dangerous,’ she’d said – but, finally, she’d given in.
And now, whenever I wasn’t studying for my A-levels, I was out on my bike.
My boyfriend had one, too, and we’d go on rides along the coast with a group of biker pals.
In May last year, we planned to ride 60 miles to Weymouth.
This time, though, I left my bike at home, as it wasn’t cut out for long journeys.
‘I’ll just go on the back of yours,’ I told my boyfriend.
But, when we met up with our friends, we had a silly row.
‘Get on the back of someone else’s bike,’ he sulked.
My friend Adam, 28, offered me a ride on his 1300cc Suzuki.
Our group of seven bikes took to the road – but, as we picked up speed, Adam started showing off.
Going faster and faster, and doing wheelies. I was terrified I’d fall off.
When we pulled over shortly after, I was furious.
‘Stop messing around!’ I told him.
I didn’t feel comfortable on Adam’s bike any more, so tried to make up with my boyfriend.
He was still sulking, though, wouldn’t let me on his bike, so I’d no choice but to go on Adam’s.
Me and a few of the other bikers warned him to stop playing the fool. But Adam didn’t listen, and immediately started doing wheelies again.
I could hear him shouting to one of our mates, boasting about the speed he was doing.
‘It’s 175mph!’ he said. ‘Don’t encourage him,’ I yelled to the others. ‘I’ll die!’
I cursed myself for getting back on Adam’s bike, believing he’d be more sensible.
Adam carried on being reckless on a dual carriageway. Every time he did a wheelie, my heart flipped with fear.
Then, suddenly, Adam swerved – and smashed into another bike.
It felt as if everything was happening in slow motion as I flew through the air.
I skidded across the tarmac at about 60mph, ripping skin and breaking bones.
Then everything went black.
I skidded across the tarmac at about 60mph
14 operations
The next thing I remember is waking up in Southampton General Hospital.
Mum was holding my hand. ‘You had an accident,’ she told me gently. ‘You fell off a motorbike.’
Turned out I’d been in a coma for two weeks. And I’d already had more than 14 ops to clean my wounds and remove grit and dirt.
When doctors revealed my injuries, I was horrified.
Two bleeds on the brain, a ruptured spleen, shattered left arm, skin on my left knee ripped off to the bone, skin ripped off my right foot…
‘You’re lucky to be alive,’ a doctor said.
Apparently, my arm
was so mangled, they’d wanted to amputate it at the roadside. The crash had already amputated it by three-quarters – it was virtually hanging off. Thankfully, surgeons had managed to save it.
So angry
Eventually, my boyfriend told me more about the crash.
‘It was Adam’s fault,’ he said. ‘He was being an idiot.’
I was so upset, angry. ‘How could Adam be so irresponsible!’ I raged.
He’d fractured his shoulder blade in the crash, and dislocated his thumb and toe.
His injuries were nothing compared to what I’d suffered. And he’d seriously injured
the biker who he’d
crashed into, too.
He had a severe break in his right leg, as well as a broken arm, torn liver and kidney, broken finger, and partially severed big toe.
‘He nearly killed us!’ I cried. Over the next few months, I had even more ops to repair my damaged body, including numerous skin grafts. I even had a metal plate inserted into my arm to replace my elbow.
When I was finally allowed home in August, I was still in such a state. I needed help doing the simplest of things.
In time, my boyfriend and I split up. Focusing on my recovery, I started making small, but steady progress. I taught myself to apply make-up again, brush my hair, get dressed…
In May this year, Adam Wilde, 29, appeared at Bournemouth Crown Court.
Jurors heard he was travelling at 82mph when he caused the crash. Footage from a camera on one of the other bikes captured the whole thing.
It proved Wilde was driving recklessly with me on the back.
Sentenced
Wilde pleaded guilty to two counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving, and was sentenced to three and a half years, with a five-year driving ban.
Another biker,
Nima Biniaz, was given an eight-month suspended sentence,
150 hours of unpaid work, a four-month curfew, and two-year driving ban, for dangerous driving.
Daniel Lincoln pleaded guilty to dangerous driving and trying to pervert the course of justice, after he had tried to delete the footage at the crash scene.
He got a 12-month suspended sentence, 150 hours unpaid work, a sixmonth curfew, and an 18-month driving ban.
Nothing will ever undo what happened but I’m slowly getting things back together.
The crash has turned my life upside down – all because of a biker showing off.
I hope that he can live with himself.