A Guelph man is looking for the stranger who likely saved his life following a motorcycle accident last Sunday.
“I think he saved my life, to be honest with you,” said Drew Haller, who was “bleeding out” after severing the femoral artery in his leg following a collision with a minivan on Grange Road.
“He pretty much saved my life. Otherwise I would have bled-out on the scene.”
Haller wants to connect with the man to thank him.
“I’m trying to find him. I want to know who he is. He’s definitely someone I would like to get in contact with,” said Haller.
Last Sunday afternoon around 2:30 p.m. Haller and his 11-year-old son Andrew Jr. were taking an early spring ride on the 1999 Kawasaki Vulcan Nomad motorcycle the lifelong motorcycle enthusiast spent three years building.
They were travelling east on Grange Road when they collided with a minivan turning onto Grange. Both Haller and his son were ejected from the bike.
Police say the driver of the minivan, a 65-year-old Guelph man, was charged with careless driving - cause bodily harm under the Highway Traffic Act.
“I was probably doing 30 kilomtres an hour. I didn’t even hit the guy that hard,” Haller said. “If I had been going any faster I probably would have taken my whole leg off.”
What the collision did do was cause a large cut on the inside of Haller’s right thigh, severing the artery.
“I jumped up and looked down at my leg and said ‘whoa!’ and every time my heart beat the blood just pumped out. I took my belt off and basically made a tourniquet to cut off the circulation.
“I wanted to attend to my son but I couldn’t go anywhere with that amount of blood loss.”
Within seconds, Haller passed out from the blood loss.
Bystanders rushed to help. The stranger took over and held the tourniquet tight until emergency crews arrived. Otherwise Haller may have bled to death before they got there.
“A lot of guys, when they see something like that they can’t handle it and they don’t want to get involved,” Haller said of the gruesome scene.
“They throw up or get nauseous because it’s someone else’s blood. But this gentleman took care of business. Lucky for me. Really lucky.”
Haller’s son was airlifted from the scene to a trauma centre in Hamilton with a head injury.
It turned out to be a serious concussion and now both Haller and his son are recovering at home.
Both were wearing helmets that prevented much more serious injuries.
“We’re alive, that’s what counts,” said Haller, who needed 22 stitches to close the gash on his leg.
Haller said he was amazed at how well Andrew handled the whole ordeal.
He said Andrew didn’t cry or yell. He stayed strong through the entire scary process.
“He’s a tough little boy, I’ll tell you that. I think he did better than I did.”
Haller has been riding on motorcycles since he was five years old. It’s his passion.
But he feels the accident was another example of drivers not paying enough attention to motorcycles on the road.
“Cars just don’t pay attention to what’s around them,” said Haller.
“It’s not just worth it and it’s not just motorcycles. It’s skateboards, bicycles, it’s kids playing on the street. It’s everything. Drivers need to just pay more attention.”
Haller will be off work for some time and his buddy Stephen Turnor will be his taxi for a while. Andrew will be off school for a while.
“This is far from over. My son could have life trauma. That’s the most painful thing for me, that my son’s concussion could affect him down the line somewhere."
