Trike crash, helicopter, and hospital...long night so far

**fabiodriven** · 02-21-2009, 10:56 AM

I think you and your friends are stupid and got what you had coming. I'm sorry to be so blunt but like somebody else already said, "No helmets, drinking, no headlights". WTF, man?

**Cottonwood** · 02-21-2009, 12:50 PM

We have gone out a few times at night and its usually just putting around out there on the section of trails we know pretty good. Milo's bike did have a flash light taped up and all the others had head lights (but mine), that's why me and Milo always stayed in back. I guess after I left they went over to the farm roads we haven't ridden before and that's when it all happened. Me and Milo hadn't been drinking at all, and as far as I saw the other guys only had 2 beers each, it was all that fit in the trunks of the bikes. Turns out he was over the legal limit though, so they must have stopped a couple times and had more while I was riding around. He had a cat scan and they released him from the hospital about 1am after it saying he would be fine. He actually just came and talked to me as I was typing this up for a min asking about the crash, he remembers just crashing then nothing after that until this morning. But he seems alright, some scrapes on his face and stuff but that's it. He's worried they will give him a DUI. He has never even had a speeding ticket before, and he usually wont ride if he has had more than a few. He loves coaching youth football so he stays away from things like that. It was just a whole bad night of bad judgment.

**i58829** · 02-21-2009, 02:06 PM

Bad judgment is a good way to put it, i know a guy who hit a beaver of all things on his banshee one night and needless to say he got a dui and it cost him his job plus whatever else. So thats a lot of problems stemming from one little atv ride, hopefully it doesn't end up that way for him...

**glass** · 02-21-2009, 02:10 PM

I am speechless, cottonwood your last reply was filled with you trying to justify you and your friends actions. What you guys were doing was WRONG! Today it seems everone wants to take away our right to ride. You and your buddies are making that task easier for them! Read most of the accidents leading to the demise of the three wheeler and they mirror your stupidity.

**fabiodriven** · 02-21-2009, 02:14 PM

Not to mention, if I ever did something so irresponsible and ignorant and it turned out the way your situation did, the last thing I would do is start a fricken thread telling eveybody how dumb my friends and I are. The whole "redneck" thing is no excuse, either. My necks about as red as they come around here, and I don't go out drinking and riding at night with no helmet. Are saying most rednecks do?

**dcreel** · 02-21-2009, 03:37 PM

Last October 4th it was my daughters 4th birthday. We were putting around the yard while waiting for friends and family to arrive. We usually don't wear helmets around the 2 acres with quite a few trees. My buddy Mike got on my friends yz125 we call death rattle, because it hurts people. My wife told him to put on his helmet. He made a few trips around the trees out to the field. We were welcoming guests when we heard a 2 stroke rev and a boom.
Mike lost control in our yard and slammed a tree head first. He was airlifted to a bigger hospital because of his brain bleeding.
The helmet saved his life. We still don't know what happened, and he doesn't remember what happened. The only thing wrong with the yz was a thoroughly pancaked exhaust pipe. The tree has a dent where the front axle, pipe, handlebar, and mike's head hit the tree. His helmet pretty much exploded on impact, but took the brunt of the impact.
He had just turned 21.
Please wear your helmet.

**Cottonwood** · 02-21-2009, 04:15 PM

I'm not trying to justify anything just telling how it is. Yeah its stupid, but we weren't out racing and and we weren't doing anything crazy at all. Something just went bad there at the end, and they did do some thing stupid.
Glass:
Are you saying you have never had a beer and rode? You have never rode with out a helmet? You have never crashed before? You have never rode at night before? He didn't hurt any one but himself, and the people trying to take away your right to ride care less if you have a helmet on, any accident they use to point out how dangerous it is, they look at the bike not the people as causing an accident.

fabiodriven:
I'm not saying anything about Rednecks, and it wasn't meant about drinking and driving. I don't ever drink period, but I'd still call myself a redneck. I wasn't starting a thread to be cool or show off or sound funny. Simply to share an experience we had last night. Maybe people will learn from it, or maybe they will call me stupid, I don't really care what you think. Just that my friend is ok, that's the important thing.

Whats with the whole Hollier than you attitude on here? A guy got hurt, yeah it was stupid, I wasn't trying to justify anything just say what happened. Yeah helmets are smart, how many of you wear yours 100% of the time? Drinking shouldn't happen when you ride, like I said he usually doesn't and I never do. There is nothing wrong with riding at night. I was trying to point out, we aren't generally that stupid as what happened last night. It all came together no helmets, he did drink, they started riding fast and that happened. Good thing he got what was coming to him right?! What a bunch of @$$ holes, good thing you have never made a mistake before!

p.s. we wear our helmets 100% of the time there are kids around, and if we are going to do any serious riding. If were going to putt around its hit or miss. That will probably change in light of last night.

**y2kane** · 02-21-2009, 05:23 PM

Come on guys he is admitting it was a very bad decision. We have all made bad choices in life and I have made plenty. If people learn a lesson from this then it's a good thing it was posted. I still hope everything irons out for you and your friends cottonwood. I live in town and have one and half lots with about that much in the back of my property that is overgrown. I can't get any speed on this property but makes it fun for the kids to ride. If we leave our property we always wear helmets...well ok except on time pulling the kids behind the trikes not going very fast at all. I couldn't turn my head around wearing my winter gear to see the kids making sure they didn't slam into the back of the trike or a tree or something. As soon as we left my mom and dad's 2.75 acres, or quit pulling the kids around, we put the helmet on. That was the only other time I didn't wear a helmet.

**AutoXer** · 02-21-2009, 05:43 PM

Originally Posted by i58829

I read this post a couple hours ago when i woke up and was thinking how many times i've ridden at night and didn't wear a helmet, this was kind of a wake up call. I wish him the best and hope that we can learn a little from this as we just can't afford to have our kids end up without a parent because we didn't take the 30 seconds to slide a helmet on...

I know the group i ride with doesn't allways wear helmets and we do like to ride at night and we do ride trikes so some times lights don't work ....... lets not be so quick to preach its really not the time for it ...... would he have been better off if he had a helmet ? We will never know that ... more than likely he would so instead lets take some thing from this and try to wear our helmets more often.....

**fabiodriven** · 02-21-2009, 07:40 PM

Originally Posted by AutoXer

so instead lets take some thing from this and try to wear our helmets more often.....

It's a good thing that was said 'cause I never would've known that otherwise...

**braunz200x** · 02-21-2009, 10:05 PM

Fact is you have to live with the decisions you make in life and the opinions of others shouldn't be what determines things like whether you wear a helmet or not, IMO if you understand the consequences make your own decisions and its nobody's business to tell you otherwise

**88 Turbo Coupe** · 02-21-2009, 10:11 PM

Originally Posted by braunz200x

Fact is you have to live with the decisions you make in life and the opinions of others shouldn't be what determines things like whether you wear a helmet or not, IMO if you understand the consequences make your own decisions and its nobody's business to tell you otherwise

Wearing a helmet is just my opinion. Take it for what its worth. It might save your life one day.

**riverrat** · 02-22-2009, 08:51 AM

Originally Posted by Cottonwood

I'm not trying to justify anything just telling how it is. Yeah its stupid, but we weren't out racing and and we weren't doing anything crazy at all. Something just went bad there at the end, and they did do some thing stupid.

It was just a whole bad night of bad judgment.

I think you gave yourself some guidelines to follow, if you just read what you wrote. You see, when you post stories like this on the internet, you are telling the whole world about your bad judgment call. Then you become a statistic, one that threatens our love and joy of riding. The more people that get hurt and show up in hospitals, the more the rest of the world hates us.

So the natural response is for people to post how stupid it was, to show the rest of the world that there are people who are responsible. We all make stupid mistakes, and we need to keep reminding ourselves what is at stake here. It happens with everything, people get careless, I get careless. I don't want to be careless, or get hurt. I don't want to see other riders get hurt. We need people like your friend around so he can coach youth football.

**Russell 350X** · 02-22-2009, 10:21 AM

I'm sorry to hear about your friend, its good to now he's up and around again.

I understand crap happens, belive me I've gone out riding at night, no helmet, with a crappy ass headlight on logging/fire roads. I did that for years, all until I rolled by buds quad over in the middle of the road, no helmet on. I got lucky cuz I walked away from that one and I probably shouldnt have. After that I always wear my helmet unless I'm just buzzin around the yard.

I hope this opens your eyes and you and your buddys start wearing helmets and get your damn headlights fixed.

**Cottonwood** · 02-22-2009, 03:57 PM

Se we finally had a chance to talk today about everything. Yesterday was busy for us and he was sleeping mostly. He is feeling fine now, but he said he is giving up drinking. He wasn't a big drinker just liked having some beers after dinner. But he said even those will lead to more that lead to doing stupid stuff like friday night, so he's done. Maybe a beer at dinner but not drinking more than that. He doesn't want anything to happen like that again it was a real eye opener. No more night riding other than if were going out to shoot and back, and definitely helmets if we head out to go riding... Lessons learned.

Thread: Trike crash, helicopter, and hospital...long night so far

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sorry about your friend