Rider Down Hard on Mines Rd today (6/27/10), RIP Bo Poulsen

[FickleBiker]

Prayers, and wishes for what's best......
(dammit, hurts to read about none-the-less)

I play hard in the Diablo Grande/Mines/Lick/Junction, been really lucky too. Waaaaay too many locals who frequent that road, drive it in their pickups/cars/campers at high rates of speed while crossing over into the oncoming lanes. Honest to God, I've never seen such disregard for oncoming traffic ANYWHERE! If you're on a bike, you absolutely MUST assume that one of these locals is steering his/her land-yaht straight for you from the other side of that upcoming blind curve.
Yeah, yeah, us bikers ride it faaast too..... but ferGodsakes, assume the worst, be your most attentive, ride your best.

 

[QuaiChangKane]

Honest to God, I've never seen such disregard for oncoming traffic ANYWHERE!

The Vasco/May School/Highland/Tassajara commute. Commuters in very capable cars at way reasonable speeds still can't seem to grasp the fact that they don't need both lanes to corner - never seen so many people voluntarily crossing the DY to straighten out corners when completely unnecessary at the speeds they're driving. Highland is the worst road in the bay at commute times for this - more dangerous than Patterson Pass when there's a wreck on 580 east...



But not to derail - Catfish, please give us an update when you have one, and let us know if there is any need for blood donations.



-Q!

 

[TravisF]

Best of luck to the rider.

Keep us updated if you can please.

 

[ItsOverJohnny]

I dont care what you say. If I am helping someone who is telling me they are thirsty, i will give em water. Its not gonna kill em. If it does, they were probably gonna die anyway.

 

[Prabhat]

The rider is an old friend who knows Mines Road better than most. I doubt he was in the truck's lane, but I don't doubt the truck driver said that. We may never know for sure.

He is in a San Jose Hospital, in a coma with suspected brain damage from a lack of oxygen after the crash. He had a collapsed lung and had to be revived with CPR en-route.

Prayers & karma are needed.

(Moto)Catfish ...

Prayers sent his way. Hope he recovers full and soon. Please keep us updated.

The broken down motorcycle was on the right side of the road. There are good chances that truck driver was making up stuff about rider crossing the double yellow. I didn't grill him on what actually happened as he was trying his best to help....

Also rider was coming from Livermore side that means he took a left hander before the accident happen....if he had gone wide at the end of turn he would go into ravine directly ...not hit the truck until truck was on wrong side of double yellow.

Can cops figure out what happened based on location of broken bike, skid marks etc ?

 

[AOW]

He is in a San Jose Hospital, in a coma with suspected brain damage from a lack of oxygen after the crash. He had a collapsed lung and had to be revived with CPR en-route.

Prayers & karma are needed.

(Moto)Catfish ...

karma and prayers sent. Is the coma drug induced or result of the incident?

 

[motocatfish]

karma and prayers sent. Is the coma drug induced or result of the incident?

The rider's name is Bo Poulsen. He lives in Livermore and has ridden for decades. I believe he used to race AFM, but that was before I met him.

The coma is a by-product of the accident and has the docs worried.

"An MRI showed damage to the motor cortex of the right side of Bo's brain. This is not due to trauma, but to the difficulty Bo had breathing, immediately after the accident. Such damage may or may not result in partial or complete paralysis of Bo's left side. That will become evident when Bo wakes up."

"Bo has shown signs of awareness. When his Mom came to his bedside and spoke to him, his pulse and blood pressure increased. Doctors say that it is very easy to overstimulate him in this state."

His ex-wife & family are here now. This info was from Tuesday evening. I've not gotten further updates yet.

We continue to hope for the best,

(Moto)Catfish ...

 

[EMTFERN17]

Best wishes for the rider.


Note: If I may throw some info on what to do at a motorcycle accident.

Please call 911 ASAP or go call for help. Unless you are riding on an ambulance or a lifeflite and are a Paramedic, you need help with the rider.

Scene safety for you and the downed rider. Don't add to the patient total by becoming one too.

Don't move the rider unless they are in danger (getting hit by another car or rider etc..

Don't take the helmet off unless they can't breath and you know how to perform CPR.

Don't give anything by mouth. Water, fluids etc...

Try to re-assure the rider. Let him/her know what happened, what is going on, and that help is on the way.

Stay calm. If you can't stay calm, let some one else speak with the rider. If you're not part of the solution, back off.

By talking to the rider, find out some info (name, age, where they live, who to contact, etc...) This also helps with mental status of the rider. This is good info to relay to the EMT crew as to the rider getting worse or better.

There's more to it but if you can follow this steps, you will be doing the rider a favor.

Please ride safe and Gods speed to the rider

 

[YanaBanana]

Best wishes to Bo for a speedy and complete recovery!!

Thanks for the updates, as well as everyone's First Aid tips!!


Yana

 

[MotoMatthew]

The rider's name is Bo Poulsen. He lives in Livermore and has ridden for decades. I believe he used to race AFM, but that was before I met him.

The coma is a by-product of the accident and has the docs worried.

"An MRI showed damage to the motor cortex of the right side of Bo's brain. This is not due to trauma, but to the difficulty Bo had breathing, immediately after the accident. Such damage may or may not result in partial or complete paralysis of Bo's left side. That will become evident when Bo wakes up."

"Bo has shown signs of awareness. When his Mom came to his bedside and spoke to him, his pulse and blood pressure increased. Doctors say that it is very easy to overstimulate him in this state."

His ex-wife & family are here now. This info was from Tuesday evening. I've not gotten further updates yet.

We continue to hope for the best,

(Moto)Catfish ...

Best wishes. That's a tough shake.

 

[I'm OaklandLion]

Bo - get better.

 

[EQPlayer]

Met the car driver today at the Junction. His story: The rider was going way too fast, blew a right turn and slammed into his truck. Sure enough, the left side of his truck was bashed. He said the impact was so hard it ripped off a side-mounted toolchest.

From what I could tell, the damage to the truck was consistent with a bike hitting the truck, not the other way around.

When accidents are our fault (and let's face it, sometimes they are), we also affect those we hit. So slow it down and don't crash.

 

[RD400man]

A rider just died today on a road i ride all the time (Lewis River Road).

Please ease back into your riding. You have all summer to get the lead out.

Save the 3X speed limits for the track.

Life is short enough as it is. I plan to prolong death as long as possible. You pay for all this shit when you get older too.

 

[Wack]

"Save the 3X speed limits for the track."

The guy that puts the speeds on the caution signs on SAV/130 has a real sense of humour. They are completely inconsistent and not possible to calibrate. Some are 2X, others 3X and a few are 1.25X. There is a 180 sign near the top that is only a 90 with a short straight, then the 180, leading to lots of excitement, making one glad they kept 20% in reserve.

 

[Prabhat]

Met the car driver today at the Junction. His story: The rider was going way too fast, blew a right turn and slammed into his truck. Sure enough, the left side of his truck was bashed. He said the impact was so hard it ripped off a side-mounted toolchest.

From what I could tell, the damage to the truck was consistent with a bike hitting the truck, not the other way around.

When accidents are our fault (and let's face it, sometimes they are), we also affect those we hit. So slow it down and don't crash.

It was a Left turn. From rider's view, accident occurred at the exit of a left turn.

 

[Moto4Fun]

Whether the bike blew the turn, or the truck blew a turn and swerved to get back on the right side of the line, the impact zone could be the same.

Good luck rider!

 

[nine_inch_rear]

This is a very informative post. I had no idea about the "no water". I dont do mines road much anymore.. esp on the weekends. Ive seen some very skilled riders yet courteous pass by. But every corner I anticipate a vehicle coming around blowing wide in a corner. So much so that I cover my rear brake and just leave my foot there.
The SPOT gps is a great item. Never heard of it, but something to consider. Forget 911 coverage out in that area.
Hope the rider makes a steady improvements and a full recovery.

 

[Enchanter]

Any updates on Bo?

A few friends of his just found out and want to help his family.

 

[Baptistro]

Met the car driver today at the Junction. His story: The rider was going way too fast, blew a right turn and slammed into his truck. Sure enough, the left side of his truck was bashed. He said the impact was so hard it ripped off a side-mounted toolchest.

I just found out that Bo is represented by my firm, but his case is being handled by another partner.

Regardless of what the driver may have said, the physical evidence shows that the impact occurred well into Bo's lane. We've had two experts out at the scene, and they took samples of the oil/fluid stains on the ground, among other things, and verified via the fork oil directly from Bo's bike the precise location of the impact. The driver flat out lied to you and although Bo will win, he has lost already.

I will see what more information I can gather and share with you. I am aware that a lot of Bo's close friends have been out of the loop and unable to get information as to his status, or any information at all. I hope to be able to share some of that with you soon to help put you at ease. As of this writing, Bo is still in a coma.

 

[Gixxergirl1000]

Thanks for the update, John. I'm not surprised the driver lied... CYA in full effect...
Sending healing thoughts Bo's way... this has to be hard on his family. Is there anything being done to help with expenses for the family that we can donate to?
I hope he recovers...