A biker from Newcastle was left with catastrophic injuries in a horrific crash after his motorbike landed on top of him.
David Hobkirk was on a ride out with six friends back in April 2018 when his motorbike collided with a fence and then landed on top of him. The 57-year-old sustained a number of injuries but concern rose when he started throwing up blood as they waited for the Great North Air Ambulance (GNAAS) to land.
GNAAS flew Mr Hobkirk to the Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI) in Newcastle where the full extent of his injuries was understood. He suffered a fractured eye socket, fractured cheekbones, a broken jaw and collarbone, three cracked vertebrae, 11 broken ribs, collapsed lungs, a smashed left leg, as well as cuts all over his body.
Read more: Pedestrian, 39, dies in hospital after being hit by car in South Shields
Mr Hobkirk, from Dinnington, said: "I was at the RVI for a week and then rushed to the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle for an operation where I stayed for three weeks, then I was transferred back to the RVI for another two weeks. I was off work for eight months in total."
The team of riders were on their way to Bellingham and were travelling at around 40mph when the accident happened. Recalling the crash Mr Hobkirk said he clipped the kerb before falling from his bike and "bouncing through a fence".
He explaned: "It started out like any other day. I wasn’t planning to go out on my motorbike, but my son who’s also called David had just passed his test so asked if I fancied a ride. It’s funny as a couple of weeks earlier my son had fallen off his bike by trying to keep up with me so I thought on this ride out I would slow it down, yet it was me who fell off.
"The weather conditions were perfect. It was dry and clear. We were coming up to a bend in the road, I moved over to the left-hand side of the road and when we were halfway around the bend, for some reason I put the brakes on the bike. My front wheel straightened, and I clipped the kerb, falling from my bike and bouncing through a fence, and then my bike fell on top of me."
Since the accident, Mr Hobkirk has retraced his steps and been up the same stretch of road many times but still has no memory of how the accident occurred.
He said: "I have had the same bike since 2004 and I haven’t had an accident. Everyone who saw it happen stopped and came to help. The farmer from the field nearby knew our exact location so he was able to tell the ambulance whereabouts we were and there was also an army medic who stopped."
The Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS) was immediately tasked to the scene where they administered life-saving critical care interventions to help save Mr Hobkirk’s life.
Mr Hobkirk’s son, 30-year-old, David said: "Immediately after it happened, I didn’t think it was that bad but when someone said the air ambulance is coming, I knew. Then my dad started to be sick blood. When GNAAS landed they were so calm and made us all feel really at ease."
Following the accident, Mr Hobkirk has vowed to "enjoy life more" and described the GNAAs as being "absolutely brilliant". He said: "I think about the accident a lot and I am just about ready to go back on my bike now. GNAAS is absolutely brilliant and having this happen to me has totally shown me to enjoy my life more - trivial things just don’t matter at all."
GNAAS relies on donations to survive. You can win £10K in its 20th Birthday Raffle here: https://gna.as/2022raffle
Read next:
- Man tragically died due to 'rare and aggressive' complications after AstraZeneca Covid vaccine
- Blood scandal victims welcome 'vindication' of £100,000 payout - but urge Government not to forget bereaved parents and children
- Warning issued as bird flu is confirmed in dead kittiwakes at popular South Tyneside beach
- Byker man to stand trial after police raid in Walker netted narcotics worth almost £1m
- Former Royal Marine and paramedic among Hell's Angels at Newcastle Black Lives Matter riot
