CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The month of May happens to be National Motorcycle Safety Month and we are hearing the story of a local woman who went through a horrific motorcycle crash back in November of last year and lived to talk about it.
She said she has her life because of all of the health care workers who helped her make a full recovery.
The Corpus Christi Fire Station on Waldron Road is the site of what was a joyful reunion between Sophia Beattie and the team of professionals who are the reason she is alive today.
"We were going for a motorcycle ride, and we were hit by a truck, kind of came out of nowhere," said Beattie.
Beattie remembers putting on her helmet and leather jacket, but some of the November day is still a blur as Beattie and her boyfriend Ryan Stouffer merged onto SPID in Flour Bluff, a truck hit the couple from behind.
Stouffer was thrown to the side of the road and Beattie was launched off the motorcycle and dragged. She was left in critical condition.
"The first thing I remember is waking up being confused about where I was, but they made me feel okay," Beattie said.
Beattie was taken to Corpus Christi Medical Center-Bay Area, a level 3 designated trauma center, where she faced multiple life threating injuries.
Two weeks after the accident, she awoke from a coma, but her road to recovery would be long.
Beattie endured 10 surgeries and extensive physical therapy during her 68 days in the hospital.
"Our trauma surgeons took care of her chest injuries, and her abdominal injuries and orthopedic surgeons took care of her multiple pelvic and extremity fractures, and throughout each of those areas have special considerations for long term care," said Dr. Thomas Goaley.
Dr. Goaley is the hospital's trauma medical director and was at the special reunion. He's seen with Beattie during an emotional embrace.
"It was very touching, very personal for everyone involved, our EMS parners, our therapist, our surgeons and I don't think there was a dry eye in the house," said Goaley.
Today, Beattie and her boyfriend have made full recoveries and can't thank everyone enough from that EMS crew that first responded to the physicians who cared for her throughout her time in the hospital.
"I have my life thanks to them," said Beattie.
The couple is so incredibly lucky.
In Texas, last year 482 people lost their lives in motorcycle crashes.
Awareness is key and TxDOT has advice on different ways to prevent motorcycle related crashes on the roads.
- Take extra care when making a left turn. It's safest to let the motorcycle pass to avoid turning in front of the rider.
- Pay special attention at intersections. Nearly one in three motorcycle fatalities happens at a roadway intersection.
- Give driving your full attention. Even a momentary distraction, such as answering a phone call or changing the radio station, can have deadly consequences.
- Look twice when changing lanes. Check mirrors, check blind spots, and always use turn signals.
- Give motorcyclists room when passing them. Move over to the passing lane and don't crowd the motorcyclist's full lane.
- Stay back. If you're behind a motorcycle, always maintain a safe following distance. When a motorcyclist downshifts instead of applying the brake to slow down, it can catch drivers off guard since there are no brake lights to signal reduced speed.
- Slow down. Obey posted speed limits and drive to conditions.
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