A motorcyclist who lost his leg in a senseless crash caused by an unwitting motorist hopes his painful story can save lives.
Mario Attard, 58, was leaving for his routine motorcycle ride to Supercheap Auto in Melton, west of Melbourne, on August 11 last year when his life changed forever.
The experienced rider had been was coming through an intersection with green lights on High Street when he was struck by a driver who made an illegal turning.
“I remember being hit,” Attard told Daily Mail Australia.
“I remember the car hitting my ankle and hitting my bike and being dragged along with the bike after I went airborne.”
From there it’s all a bit blurry.
Mr Attard, who had run his own lawn mowing business before the crash, remembers images of people, paramedics and friends coming “in and out like picture frames”.
He was in the ambulance and many people were talking to him.
Mario Attard lost a leg when a driver hit him on his motorcycle. As soon as he could, he took off again on a tricycle
In the ambulance he stopped breathing three times due to blood loss.
“The paramedics revived me,” he said.
‘I don’t remember much after that. The next thing I remember is waking up in the hospital.”
When Mr Attard woke up from surgery, his leg had been amputated below the knee.
“When the doctor asked if I knew where I was, I said I couldn’t possibly be in heaven,” Mr Attard said.
“He told me about the amputation and then I said, ‘Oh well, there goes my leg.’
It is the kind of positive outlook and sense of humor that has seen Mr Attard through his darkest moments.
Within days of having his leg removed, Mr Attard got out of bed and walked around his room.
“A few hours after the surgery, a good friend of mine came to see me and I immediately jumped on his bike and burned all the bandages off my leg,” he said.
“It’s a passion and it was important for me to keep riding.”
Mr Attard spent three months in rehab where he learned to walk again.
Determined to keep riding motorcycles, he continues to go to rehab three times a week and also swims.
Mr Attard now rides a three-wheeled Harley Davidson, although he still finds it difficult to walk properly.
Mr Attard returned last year, on the anniversary of the crash, to the intersection where his life changed forever
The popular rider has the support of a close-knit riding community that watches and encourages him.
Despite his bravery, Mr Attard knows he is not invincible and still gets nervous when he drives past the scene of the incident.
Seeing bad driving or close calls still sends shivers down his spine.
October is Motorcyclist Awareness Month, which has inspired Mr Attard to come forward in the hope that motorists will pay more attention to motorcyclists on the road.
“Drivers look at riders, and riders look at drivers. During rehabilitation, I was alarmed at how many other people were rebuilding their lives after injuries caused by road traffic accidents, and I am passionate about making change,” he said.
‘I just want everyone to know who’s on the road – from cars to buses, trucks and bicycles.’
Highway man: Mario Attard is on the road again on a three-wheeled Harley
Mr Attard said he held no grudge against the motorist who cost him his leg.
“I forgive the driver who hit me. It was an accident; wrong place, wrong time. He covered my leg with his jacket, he screamed for help and he didn’t leave my side. But I have to live without my leg for the rest of my life and it didn’t have to happen this way,” he said.
‘NB. Check your blind spots and everyone pays attention; There is too little awareness these days and you see reckless behavior on the roads every day.’
Arnold Thomas & Becker lawyer Maggie Attalla, who is representing Mr Attard with a Transport Accident Commission claim, said her client’s story Timely reminder that cyclists are one of the most vulnerable users of our roads.
‘People often miss motorcyclists in their blind spot, or because they expect to see a car. “When you get behind the wheel, you must be vigilant and remember that you are not only responsible for yourself, but for the lives of those around you,” she said.
‘And as a driver you don’t want to be responsible for someone else’s injury, or worse, someone else’s life. The ripple effects of these accidents reach far and wide.
“Mario’s life is changed forever. Although he has an astonishing attitude towards what happened to him, he still faces the adjustment to life without his leg and the psychological trauma he will live with forever.”