Motorcyclist Rescued From Under Car Cried Over Mangled Bike
Brandon Wright said rescuers who lifted car restored his faith in humanity.
Sept. 15, 2011— -- Brandon Wright, the biker who was pulled from beneath a car lifted by bystanders, told a news conference today that he was glad to be alive but that he cried over his mangled bike.
The scene of students and construction workers rushing over to lift the BMW Monday while flames shot out of the burning motorcycle jammed under the car's front fender captured the country's attention. Wright's unconscious body was dragged from under the vehicle.
Wright, 21, held a news conference today at the Intermountain Medical Center in Murray, Utah, today thanking his rescuers, who he called heros.
"They stepped up. They should get used to being called heroes because that's what they are," said Wright, his right eye bloodshot from his accident.
"They restored my faith in humanity," Wright, a student at Utah State University, said while propped up by pillows in his hospital bed.
Wirght suffered a fractures in his right leg and burns on his left leg, but no damage to his head despite his lack of a helmet. Doctors said a head injury would made it harder for him to survive.
His eye was visibly swollen and blood shot during the press conference. He thanked his family, and said his mother and girlfriend had not left his hospital room since the accident.
A habitual adventure-seeker, Wright said he would not give up motorcycle riding, but would be more careful, including wearing a helmet. He even intended to promote motorycycle safety.
"I ride that thing 95 percent of the time," he said. "It's just who I am. I love it. I started crying when I saw my bike, which I know is ridiculous but I did. I'll absolutely be back on two wheels."
Wright said it "wasn't a particularly good bike," but it had been his first bike, hanging on to it even as he bought and sold other motorcycles. He said the bike had "good memories."
Wright was driving his motorcycle just outside the campus in Logan, Utah, around noon on Monday when the black BMW pulled out in front of him. The bike hit the car's hood and bounced to the ground, and Wright slid under the car and became trapped. Both vehicles then burst into flames.
Two construction workers who were working on the fourth floor of a nearby campus building heard the crash and saw Wright's motorcycle go up in flames. They told ABC News that the adrenaline of the situation overwhlemed any sense of fear for their own lives.
"We heard a scratching noise, kind of like an accident," Christensen told Good Morning America. "We could see the bike and it burst into flames and we decided we better go down and check it out."
When Christensen and Mocevic arrived at the scene, a crowd of eight or nine people, according to Christensen, was already working to lift the burning car, while other bystanders flooded 911 with calls.
"Everybody was just reacting. It happened so fast," Lee Christensen said. "Everybody just worked together and we got him out of there."
The action was all caught on video by university staffer Chris Garff, and shows Christensen, wearing his construction vest and gear, pulling Wright's limp body from underneath the car.
"I remember hearing somebody say 'Pull him out, pull him out,' and, when I looked under there, the only thing I could get to was his leg," he said. "I was kind of concerned about pulling him out but I knew he had to be out of there so I made the choice to pull him out."
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