MINDEMOYA—A Mindemoya resident admits he was lucky to not be seriously hurt in an accident he was involved in last Friday, during the major high wind and rain storm that hit most of Ontario with winds peaking between 70-100 kilometres per hour along with isolated thunderstorms. Dan Proulx says that due to the protective clothing he was wearing and the help of several people who assisted him as he lay unconscious after having ran into a downed tree and thrown off his motorcycle.
“I was on my way out of town (Gore Bay) and was driving past Manitoulin Transport on the highway with a car in front of me when a large poplar tree fell between the car and me,” said Mr. Proulx. “I didn’t have much time to react and my bike hit the tree and sent me flying.”
He hit the pavement, rendering him unconscious. “When I woke up there was three people around me, one being the person in the car in front of me who had pulled over to the side of the road. I was a little dazed when I woke up and there was an ambulance and attendants on the scene but I told them I was okay,” he said.
“The front end of my bike was crushed,” said Mr. Proulx. “Gary Lentir and Frank McLelland helped me out and Ron Campbell helped lift the bike with his loader and took it back to his shop so I could pick it up later.”
“What really saved me was the type of armour equipment, protective clothing I was wearing,” said Mr. Proulx, “overpants, jacket and three-quarter helmet.”
“I am feeling okay today,” Mr. Proulx said on Saturday. “The only scratch I have is on my forehead from a branch that went between my shades and helmet. It’s the clothing I was wearing that saved me from serious injury.”
“Frank the others helped get me off the road and make sure I was okay and moved my bike. Allison McDermid gave me a ride home after the accident. She waited at the police station for me to report the accident. Kudos to her, Frank, Gary, Ron and the three people who were there when I woke up. Everyone was awesome.”
“I was lucky the tree didn’t totally fall on me,” he said noting his motorcycle is a write-off now. “There is a reason things happen,” said Mr. Proulx. “I was lucky to come out of this relatively unscathed. I’m just glad I had on the protective clothing I did, and that I received help from so many people.”
