We see gnarly Instagram footage of stupid motorcycle stunts that have ended in disaster every day, and even when you clearly see that the riders are going to endure weeks or months of pain its hard to feel much sympathy, particularly when they’ve been trying to pull those stunts on the road.
But what makes this clip different is that the guy who comes off worst wasn’t involved in the initial stunt, or even anywhere near it. Yet he’s ended up with life-changing injuries while the duo responsible probably escaped with some nasty bruising and a major exfoliation job on their arms (naturally, they weren’t wearing protective gear).
Related: Watch Motorcyclist Collide Head On With A Deer At 54MPH After Exiting Corner
The crash action starts in Houston, TX, last Saturday where a swarm of motorcyclists are riding in a pack down a freeway. On video footage captured from one bike we see two idiots standing up on their bikes, one actually standing on his gas tank facing the wrong way.
We’re not sure whether they were hoping to swap bikes on the move or whether one simply lost his balance and fell into the other, but both take a tumble onto the pavement. You know they’re going to be sore, but your initial reaction is that this is a fairly underwhelming crash by Instagram standards. The action, though, has only just started.
Warning: The following video may be disturbing to some viewers
That’s because one of the now rider-less bikes crosses from the left-hand lane all the way over to the shoulder where it proceeds to rub along the concrete wall with its throttle open. Ahead is an unsuspecting biker by the name of Justin, who has stopped and is waiting for a friend to catch up.
There are a number of told-you-so things you could say at this point. Why didn’t Justin look around? Why did he stop on the shoulder which is never the safest place to be? Why does the biker running parallel with the runaway bike look like he’s not trying to warn those ahead until the last minute? But we don’t know all the facts, only this one: the runaway bike hit Justin with such force that its foot peg ripped through his leg, fracturing the bone in several places and tearing the skin and muscle, leaving it practically severed.
He faces multiple surgeries, months, if not years of rehabilitation, may never walk normally again and definitely won’t be going back to work anytime soon, so his family has set up a GoFundMe campaign with a goal of raising $15,000.