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Motorcycle crash survivor's warning - wear your helmet

Motorcycle Crash Survivor’s Warning: Wear Your Helmet
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Dreams can come true, and for Brooklyn Allen, having a new motorcycle to call her own was a match made in heaven.

"It's always been a dream of mine and me and my cousin, she, it was her dream too, and so we decided we will do it together and it's just something I can share with my best friend," Allen said.

And share the road they did. In fact, her best friend witnessed the aftermath of an accident that left Brooklyn severely injured one morning when they were both out riding around the same time.

"So, I put on pants, and I looked in the mirror and that's the last thing I remember and then I woke up in the hospital like them all telling me I was in a wreck. I broke right here and right here I broke the eye socket. I broke the base of my skull where my spinal cord connects. I broke my ear. I ripped off my lip," Allen said. "I broke both of the bones right here. I had a tripod break in my wrist. I broke my pelvis. It's called an open book pelvis fracture, and so the front of my pelvis snapped in half, and I broke the back and then I also broke my femur."

Her body took a brutal beating — but doctors say one component in particular saved her life: her helmet.

“I have firsthand knowledge of patients like Brooklyn and tens if not hundreds per year that come in to see us. It's scary. It scares me. It makes me more cautious as a rider,” said Dr. Anthony Bacon, a general surgeon with Intermountain Health.

You could say he’s been on both sides of the road — treating motorcyclists and being one himself.

“You are unprotected on a bike, right? You are exposed to the elements. Everything is fair game in terms of injuries, unfortunately,” Bacon said. “I would say that with respect to head injuries, while they may not technically be the most common injury, they certainly are the most devastating.”

In 2023, Utah recorded its deadliest year for motorcycle fatalities, with 53 deaths and 346 serious motorcycle-related injuries, according to the Utah Department of Public Safety.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates helmets saved the lives of 25,000 motorcycle riders from 2002 to 2017.

As Brooklyn learned, sometimes awareness isn’t enough.

“I very much was like, there ain't no way I'm going to get in a crash because I practice like reading so many cars at a time, like, oh this car right there, and there's like so many crashes I've been able to avoid. But since he was all the way in the far right lane and turn left in front of me, I wasn't able to recognize it,” she said.

Whether you're a rider or driver, Dr. Bacon offers some important tips: Wear a helmet and other protective gear such as goggles, gloves, over-the-ankle boots, and full-length pants. Slow down and avoid distractions. If you’re a driver, always look for motorcycles — and consider taking a motorcycle safety class.

“It was the best $200 I ever spent to have the joy that I have while I'm riding. It's made me safe, and I would suggest that everybody, take the course,” Bacon said.

Believe it or not, Brooklyn is already back to riding a motorcycle — still as tough as the New York borough she's named after. She sums it up best:

“Look out for bikes and wear your helmet, even if you're a Harley rider.”