Say No To Scooters (from News Shopper): “THE FRIENDS and family of a 19-year-old who lost his leg in a road accident are boycotting their scooters in an act of solidarity.
Wayne Hall, of Challin Street, Penge, was riding his Gilera moped on the night of May 28 when he was involved in an accident with a red Ford Fiesta.
Wayne’s right leg was nearly severed in the collision which occurred at the junction of Maple Road and Graveney Road, Penge.
The former Kelsey Park Sports College student was rushed to the Mayday Hospital, Croydon, and later transferred to St George’s Hospital, Tooting, where surgeons battled to save his leg.
continued…
Sadly, during an eight-hour operation, they were forced to amputate Wayne’s right leg just below the knee.
Wayne had been warned he could lose his leg and said: ‘I saw the state my leg was in. It was twisted 90 degrees and when they twisted it back I couldn’t feel anything.
‘My dad said he was waiting for me to scream but I didn’t flinch.’
The tragedy comes just two months after Wayne’s school friend, Stuart May, 19, was killed after he collided with a lamppost while riding his motorbike in Chislehurst.
Wayne said: ‘I count myself lucky to be here with just the injuries I got.
‘I do have days when I think why did it have to happen to me?
‘But I’ve got to think of people who are in a worse state than I am and they can get through it.’
Now Wayne’s 18-year-old brother Colin and three other friends are selling their own scooters and are planning to raise funds for Wayne’s rehabilitation.
Colin, who has an identical bike to his brother, said: ‘I don’t even want to ride it any more.
‘I can’t put my mum through what has happened to Wayne and I don’t want to rub his nose in it.
‘Me and my friends are making a point. Bikes are dangerous.’”
***COMMENTARY***
Sigh… Going outside of your house is dangerous! If you’re a teenage boy with a Gilera… chances are you were hauling ass! Of course… the scooter is at fault here.
Now, in the twisted world of psychology, this is a big score for the parents of the rest of these boys. They got them to feel guilty over the event, “oh it wouldn’t be fair to Wayne to watch you boys having fun on your scooters while he’s in his wheel chair.” to which they reply “Yea mum, yer right! We’ll sell our scoots to raise money for him!” Now the parents don’t have to worry about the other teens catchin’ wreck on their tweaked out Runners.
A year from now they’ll be sitting around, trainspotting, talkin’ about,
“Gor blime me, I’m bored.”
“Yea, sellin’ our scoots was a load of old pants!”
“If Wayne wouldn’t ‘ave wrecked his scoota we’d prolly ‘ave copped off with a coupla nice birds on the back by now. Plonker.”
8. June 2006 at 5:45 pm
Haha! Pretty good use of English-isms for a yank.
9. June 2006 at 1:03 pm
Y’know, I wonder if the guy wore any protection (besides the mandatory helmet).
9. June 2006 at 8:55 pm
sad,but why not try and get their pal back on a bike?
9. June 2006 at 9:19 pm
that bit about the protection- helmets don’t save lives, they save some lives and make others worse, i.e. you are more likely of a neck injury with a helmet than without. And what protection would have saved his leg, chain-male?
I agree, get him back on a bike. that’s what is so great about scooters, you only really need one leg.
10. June 2006 at 5:22 am
That was really a one in a million accident, wasn’t it? I’d expect the kid to come out with some road rash and a broken bone or two, but losing a whole leg is uncommonly harsh. What would have saved it? Maybe some tough, close-fitting pants. I have heard that if you can keep the bones inside the leg this sort of thing is less likely to happen.
The good news for those of you in the Penge area (wherever that is): four Gileras on the market plus a parts bike.
10. June 2006 at 12:14 pm
Hey Gen,
An accident like that seems like he was t-boned. I could see loosing a leg with a hit like that. How to protect yourself? Sounds like a technology worth developing! Tight jeans look nice, but I’m not sure how much they will help in this instance.
To be fair to Wayne, according to those who know him say he was actually the SAFE rider of the bunch. The kind of guy who wouldn’t think of breaking the law.
http://wapurl.co.uk/?674YJ7K
Either way it is unfortunate for most everyone (except the people getting a deal on Runners in the UK).
Oh and Spitzer… The thought of only needing one leg is sorta sick and funny, but I’ve got a different opinion on the helmet thing. See my up coming posts. Cheers!
11. June 2006 at 9:24 pm
that bit about the protection- helmets don’t save lives, they save some lives and make others worse, i.e. you are more likely of a neck injury with a helmet than without.
What use is a healthy neck if your head is shattered?
12. June 2006 at 6:00 pm
I’ve met two scooter riders who only have one full leg. One of them rode a Burgman 650. If you can ride that with only one leg, you could ride a Gilera with only one leg too.
12. June 2006 at 11:07 pm
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Italian Market Summary (scoot/bike):
http://www.italscooter.net/4marketdata/4marketdata000020.html
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13. June 2006 at 2:34 pm
Thanks for that market summary D! Nearly 71,000 scooters registered in Italy (I believe this is in Italy). Take a look at that list and count up how many of these scooters are available in the USA. Maybe two?
14. June 2006 at 3:46 am
['d' should read 'dudel']
Note the 125cc sales.
15. June 2006 at 7:39 am
I wrote; “that bit about the protection- helmets don’t save lives, they save some lives and make others worse, i.e. you are more likely of a neck injury with a helmet than without.”
Someone else wrote; “What use is a healthy neck if your head is shattered?”
Of course a a shattered head is of no use to a healthy neck. If all you read are helmet company reports than it is easy to say that “you can’t go wrong with wearing a helmet.” But do yourself a favor and read up on issues before leaving ignorant comments.
Here is one quick link to get you started.
http://www.bikersrights.com/helmets.html
15. June 2006 at 9:12 pm
I think it would be a good idea if information about safety about everything dangerous were put out there,cars,bikes,skiing,skateboards,skydiving,etc.,etc. Then I think it should be a personal choice. Are we adults or not.