In a split second, everything changed for John Pullen.
One minute the Toowoomba ex-pilot was enjoying a beautiful winter day motorcycle ride with a group of mates cruising out to Aratula in the Scenic Rim.
The group was riding through the winding Maroon Dam hills two weeks ago when he crashed.
“I was going a little bit too quickly,” John said. “I just touched the brakes doing about 65km/h. I leaned over to turn to the left and the rear wheel locked up and the bike slipped out from underneath me.
Suddenly, he was sliding down an embankment, slamming through barbed wire and into a tree.
“I’ve never felt pain like it,” John said.
“Luckily the bike hit the barbed wire first, which kind of broke the fall.
“As the bike slid down the embankment, I was jammed up against it, my right leg was at an odd angle and when I came to an abrupt stop, it was excruciating.”
He tore all the ligaments in his right knee and fractured his tibia.
His mates removed the motorcycle off him before Queensland Ambulance Service (QAS) paramedics and Queensland Police Service (QPS) officers arrived.
“I actually saw the helicopter coming in,” John said.
“I felt a lot of relief when I saw the helicopter because I knew it wouldn’t be too long before I was on my way to the hospital.
“I take my hat off to them for what they do – they were so professional.”
John was wrapped up in a foil blanket, rolled onto a gurney and loaded into the helicopter.
“They told me I wasn’t going to die yet, and they reassured me that everything was going to be okay.”
“I can’t thank them enough.”
