Bike crash victim lucky to be found

A MOTORIST who made a Uturn on a pitch-black Hinchinbrook road to retrieve what she believed was a dropped motorcycle helmet made the shock discovery of a seriously injured man lying in the grass after a traffic accident.

“The motorist has gone past the site and noticed what she believed to be a helmet a short distance from the road and has discovered the male person,” officer-in-charge of Halifax Police Senior Sergeant Gio Tantalo said.

He said the woman, 40, from Taylors Beach, received “quite a shock” but it was a fortuitous discovery.

“At that hour on Taylors Beach Road, after about 8 or 9pm the traffic is almost nonexistent, and it was very fortunate that the lady was trying to do a good deed and recover the helmet and has gone back.”

Senior Sergeant Tantalo said the 41-year-old motorcyclist from Forrest Beach, who was in considerable pain when he was discovered, suffered serious neck, chest, shoulder and arm injuries after the accident on an access road just off Taylors Beach Road about 10.35pm on Friday.

The man was transported to Ingham Hospital and then transferred to Townsville in a stable condition.

Senior Sergeant Tantalo said the man had been camping with friends in the area, but had not told them what he was doing or where he was going when he embarked on his late-night joyride on the dirt bike.

Police are investigating whether alcohol was a factor in the potentially deadly accident.

Senior Sergeant Tantalo said police were able to locate the campsite and tell the group about their mate’s fate, adding the friends had been concerned about the man’s disappearance.

“He set off on his bike without telling anyone where he was going. His friends said ‘ he just left us, he didn’t say for how long or whatever’, so when he didn’t return after a length of time they went out looking for him,” he said.

“It’s probably good advice to let someone know where you are going and for about how long.”