We've all heard how crucial it is to wear a helmet when riding a bike or a motorcycle, but a local man is now putting that advice in perspective after surviving a motorcycle crash.
That crash sent him sliding down a street and he says his helmet saved his life.
"I know a lot of guys who wouldn't put a helmet on for a six-mile ride," said crash survivor Byron Drew. He said a simple decision to wear a helmet on his motorcycle is the reason he's alive today.
"The couple of seconds it took for me to put my helmet on in the morning, I think saved my life," said Drew.
The Millington resident has ridden motorcycles for 20 years without ever being in an accident, until Tuesday morning, when he hit a deer less than a mile away from his house.
"I remember sliding down the road and seeing nothing but sparks because my bike was sliding down the road," recalled Drew.
He walked away from the accident with some large scrapes across his body, but his wife Heather says without a helmet, Drew's injuries could have been much worse.
I can't imagine what his head would look now like if there hadn't been anything there to protect it," said Heather Drew.
TV5 visited the site of the crash, where blood and skid marks from the accident are still visible on the pavement.
"A $75 helmet is worth pennies compared to what it could have cost my wife and family," said Drew.
The state allows motorcyclists to decide for themselves whether to wear a helmet or not. Drew hopes his story encourages other riders to also choose to wear a helmet.
"I'm choosing to live because of a $75 helmet and the few seconds to put it on, now I hope to be around for 45 more years," said Drew.
The Center for Disease Control says helmets reduce the risk of death by 37 percent. The state of Michigan has what's called a partial helmet law, which requires anyone 20 years or under to wear one.
Copyright 2013 WNEM (Meredith Corporation). All rights reserved.
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