I had just taken over the main police channel when Nick went on break leaving Paula answering phones and dispatching Fire/Rescue. One of our two ambulances called out a traffic wreck on the Palm Avenue bridge they had just come across on their way downtown. "Motorcycle down!" they called out as they watched the motorcycle appear over the hump of the bridge and go down as it landed in the road. I immediately toned out an officer and within less than a minute he too was on scene. They called for help and soon we had officers, ambulances and engines all on scene and the radio went quiet as they worked away. Then they called for a helicopter to fly the rider out. His passenger was going to be treated at the local hospital for her injuries. It was only when an officer called out the tag that I realised who it was.
I met Steve last October at Badboy Burrito proudly riding his Buell, both of them survivors of the ride across the backroads of the Midwest known as the TAT, the Trans America Trail, and he was justifiably proud of the accomplishment. We talked before the demise of the Buell company was announced and his enthusiasm for the marque was a pleasure to see. It served him well on his epic journey. 
I took this picture from the blog of the journey http://www.tat09.blogspot.com/ a very worthwhile read about three motorcyclists riding a crazy trail for three weeks to Moab Utah, from Memphis Tennessee.
The prognosis is good for rider and pillion according to the last word I got from one of the rescue crews at the scene and it is so rare for dispatchers to hear the end of the story I made a point of seeking them out. They say Steve who was flown to Miami was conscious and alert at the crash scene. One tough cookie. There is the obvious wish for a speedy recovery and the hope that the Buell will be back on the streets of Key West, because they are indeed not making them anymore. I'm not sure how many riders they are still making who are ready to ride a TAT either, come to that. Tough cookies indeed. I was lucky when I went down last June that I slid across the highway without hitting anything, a feat much harder to achieve in the narrow confines of Palm Avenue. He is tough, AND lucky. I will be thinking hard about him as I ride home this morning. I know all the aggravation that comes from a fall.
I met Steve last October at Badboy Burrito proudly riding his Buell, both of them survivors of the ride across the backroads of the Midwest known as the TAT, the Trans America Trail, and he was justifiably proud of the accomplishment. We talked before the demise of the Buell company was announced and his enthusiasm for the marque was a pleasure to see. It served him well on his epic journey. 
I took this picture from the blog of the journey http://www.tat09.blogspot.com/ a very worthwhile read about three motorcyclists riding a crazy trail for three weeks to Moab Utah, from Memphis Tennessee.
The prognosis is good for rider and pillion according to the last word I got from one of the rescue crews at the scene and it is so rare for dispatchers to hear the end of the story I made a point of seeking them out. They say Steve who was flown to Miami was conscious and alert at the crash scene. One tough cookie. There is the obvious wish for a speedy recovery and the hope that the Buell will be back on the streets of Key West, because they are indeed not making them anymore. I'm not sure how many riders they are still making who are ready to ride a TAT either, come to that. Tough cookies indeed. I was lucky when I went down last June that I slid across the highway without hitting anything, a feat much harder to achieve in the narrow confines of Palm Avenue. He is tough, AND lucky. I will be thinking hard about him as I ride home this morning. I know all the aggravation that comes from a fall.
6 comments:
I think you are good bike rider.
Недвижимость Турции
Dear Mr. Conch:
So what the hell happened? The way you initially wrote this, I got the impression that your friend grabbed some air going over a bridge and lost it on the landing. Could that be so?
Details... Details... Details...
Althiugh the most important one is that the rider seems to be in good shape.
Fondest regards,
Jack • reep • Toad
Twisted Roads
(New blog posts every Monday and Thursday)
Steve is fine and on his way home. I just talked to him and he seems okay. Both he and his passenger will recover nicely hopefully without any lasting problems. The bike seems to have survived without major damage, as well.
I, too, would like to hear more details. Is this a grated bridge?
A couple friends of mine went down on a metal grated drawbridge a while back, and from that day forward "he" became known as "waffle butt" because of the imprint from the grating on his behind! They are both back riding again with no long lasting effects beside a very healthy regard for bridge gratings.
Hopefully, Steve and his rider will be in that same category!
I never get details as a dispatcher. And usually thats the way it goes. I sat there for some considerable time last night gnawing my fingernails until rescue confirmed everything was okay. It is one of the unpleasant parts of living in a small town. The palm avenue bridge is steep, narrow and has a turn at the bottom. It is lined by cement with raised sidewalks at just the right height to crack a skull. It is like a luge track. A moment's inattention, or perhaps an oncoming car not paying attention and down you go with nowhere to excape. This is a rider who has ridden some profoundly tough trails on what is not exactly an off road bike. I fell off going in a straight line. Shit happens.
I so know what you mean! I live in an area of about 40,000 people, but it seems much smaller. When I was dispatching, I hated it when people I knew were involved in things. Except maybe the night I got a township officer to pick up an ex-boyfriend of mine on an outstanding warrant at a local strip club!! I owed him one, and when I saw his warrant in the drawer, I couldn't wait to see it used!! He spent Memorial Day weekend in the local lodge, because he couldn't raise bail. I think that made us even.
I had moved on to dispatching and managing an LTL truck terminal after that, thankfully. My brother in law was killed in a car accident, and I would have not survived if I had taken that call.
We never got much info on what happened with the calls either, unless they needed us to know because more might develop. However, one particularly gruesome murder during a blizzard, did end up with the whole car, (woman had her throat cut in her car outside of her beauty shop) being towed into our underground parking facility, and the whole thing got processed right on the other side of our wall. Anytime you wanted to go out and get a coke from the vending machine, you got to see what was going on. That was pretty cool, and I did get the first call on that one. Ah memories! Glad to know your friend will be ok.
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