I chatted with Dan for about 25 minutes after they got him out of surgery today. The battery on his cell was dying, so he might have trouble picking it up until he gets a charger for it.
So here is what happened. He was on his way to meet us for a ride this morning after having already done a ton of twisty riding in the morning. Our 10:30 meeting time allowed him to cover the Crest, Little Tujunga, Bouquet Canyon and San Francisquito Canyon all before he met us. Told me he was riding well and felt great. 10 minutes before he would have arrived at Nick's place, he took an exit off the 101 to take a piss. After exiting the highway (which ends at a stoplight on a road perpendicular to the freeway), he turned left under the freeway. The light on the other side of the freeway was green for him, so he didn't have to slow or stop as he continued onwards. He saw a large white SUV (may have been an Explorer, but he wasn't sure) coming through the red light - even though there were an number of other stopped cars at the light. He adjusted to steer himself around the back of the truck, but ... the SUV then decided to apply the brakes. This threw his calculations off and meant he had no options left. He hit the rear quarter panel of the vehicle and was thrown through the left rear window and came out of the opposite window on the other side.
When he stopped, his bike was about six feet away and running WFO bouncing off the rev limiter. He tried to move to hit the kill switch wondering why the tipover switch wasn't doing its job. When he moved, he became aware that his left leg was messed up, so he didn't move. Didn't know who the driver was. There were plenty of people around. The police came and shuttled him off along with his bike, which he thinks probably ended up in the LAPD impound. He told me he broke his femur and messed his knee up a bit. Doctors told him it would be about six weeks before he would be walking. The rest of his body is bumped and bruised, but not too bad. Shoulder sore, hand hurts (he thinks it impacted the vehicle when he hit), other leg a bit sore. Helmet show no indications of trauma, other than a scratched face shield. They had to cut his NEW leather pants off when it was very painful to remove them without doing so. He okayed the cutting. His jacket is okay. The bike will probably be a total loss.
He needs some clothes and a phone charger and wants to get home ASAP. Danno is hoping they'll release him in a day or two. He'll need a ride and someone with a truck to help him get his bike home.
Big Drag for BiggerDanno.
Glad he is as positive as he is about the whole things. He said to tell you guys two things:
1. Shit Happens
2. His right wrist is fine, so he'll have no trouble twisting the throttle and kicking Nico's ass when he finally lines up against him ...
K
