Helmet Saves Motorcyclist Whose Head Was Run Over By Truck On 91 Freeway
RIVERSIDE (CBSLA.com) — Austin Easley was riding his motorcycle to work early on Monday morning when suddenly his whole life changed. Miraculously, he's still alive to tell the story.
Easley was on his daily commute on the 91 Freeway to Orange County, cruising in the space between the far-left carpool lane and the fast lane immediately to the right, when he says a car suddenly swerved directly in front of him.
He swerved his bike hard to the right, but lost control and was tossed onto the freeway -- directly in the path of a construction truck.
At that point, he believed his life was over.
"I saw the tire coming at my head," he said. "I thought it was going to smash my head. I thought that was it."
To his surprise, his matte black helmet, which now sports a long crack and an array of scratches, protected him from what seemed to be a certain death.
As Easley laid stunned on the freeway, the driver of the truck and a passing couple stopped to make sure he wouldn't be hit again. (The driver of the car that swerved into him did not stop).
That wasn't the end of his terror, as he still was not sure the extent of his injuries and whether he would survive.
"I didn't know if I was going to live or die as I was lying there waiting for the ambulance," he said.
Once he was taken to the hospital, he was found to have suffered a broken shoulder blade, broken arm, minor concussion and other cuts and bruises, but no head trauma, his family said.
He was even released from the hospital back to his family later that same day.
"I'm so grateful he's alive and with us," father James Easley said.
The Easleys said they are now dealing with substantial medical bills and have set up a GoFundMe account in the hopes of getting some help with those expenses.