Biker: ‘None of this would’ve happened if truck drivers were more careful’
The 36-year-old field technician was seriously injured when he was knocked over by a truck on July 22 on Plane Road, in Spartan
FOLLOWING a near death experience with a truck collision, Esther Park resident Michael Cronning doesn’t reckon he’ll be getting another bike anytime soon.
Cronning spent several weeks recovering at home after a motorbike accident left him with a severely injured leg, which resulted in him not being able to go to work until late August.
The 36-year-old field technician was critically injured when he was knocked over by a truck on July 22 on Plane Road, in Spartan.
Douglas was on his way from home to work, after he went to fetch his father Douglas Cronning Senior, so he could help him with something at work.
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“I remember before we left home, my 11-year-old son Damian wanted to come with me, and I insisted that he stays home, even though it had made him really upset. I’m really grateful he wasn’t with me that day and I don’t want to even begin to imagine what would’ve happened if he was,” Cronning says with a relieved, but still slightly shaken tone, as he relives that day.
Recounting the turn of events, Cronning explains what happened.
“My father and I were driving back to work on Plane Road, and we stopped at a robot,” he said.
“My dad was about two cars behind me. The robot turned green and we started moving. The next thing I knew, this huge truck just came in from the left hand side of the road, as if to make a U-turn.
“With no time to react or anything, I just felt my body crash against the body of the truck.”
Cronning was flung off his bike, landing on the side of the road.
“I don’t remember much of the moments after, just lying on the ground and in severe pain. My bike was wedged between the trailer and the horse of the truck,” he said.
Netcare 911 paramedics were on the scene and Cronning was airlifted to the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital.
Although he didn’t require any surgery and was discharged the next morning, he suffered fractured ribs on his right hand side and his left leg was left with a burn-like injury, about the length of a TV remote.
“I’m not really sure what could have caused the burn, maybe my leg scraped on the concrete as I was flung off the motorbike,” Cronning said.
He also suffered scratches on his back and had scrapes on his knee and ankle.
With no medical aid, Cronning’s mother has just been treating the wound at home with peroxide and antiseptic cream, while he’s been going for check-ups and getting injections from the chemist.
His bike was also badly damaged and he tried repairing it himself, even while limping and in brutal pain.
“I doubt it can get back to normal though, but I don’t think I’ll get myself another bike anytime soon,” he said.
Over and above Cronning being hurt and unable to go to work, his life has also been inconvenienced from the accident.
“So that’s why I just really want to emphasise that drivers of heavy duty vehicles be extremely careful when driving in the streets, and to especially look out for us motorcyclists. If drivers were more observant, none of this would have happened to me and all the other motorcyclists who’ve been knocked over by trucks,” he said.
“Perhaps they should make it a rule that truck drivers go for re-testing every now and again, just to make sure their skills are still sharp on the road.”
Looking back, Cronning said he was also thankful to the man who helped him at the accident scene, keeping him calm and warm while he lay on his back.
“I just want to really say thank you to everyone who assisted me that day, especially that man. I don’t know who he was, but he held my head while I lay in the road, and I kept wanting to move around because I was in so much pain, but he kept telling me to lie still until the paramedics got there to airlift me to hospital,” said Cronning.
A case of reckless and negligent driving has since been opened with Sebenza SAPS, and the truck driver along with the company for whom he works have been “very nice and co-operative” with the whole situation, Cronning added.
