Motorcyclist waits two days to be found

[BigJohn]

Columbia Basin Herald

Moses Lake man saves his own life after crash
Posted: Wednesday, May 14, 2008 - 11:02:40 am PDT



Candice Boutilier/Columbia Basin Herald A Moses Lake man survived nearly two days waiting to be rescued after crashing his motorcycle off Sage Road Sunday afternoon. The Moses Lake Fire Department rescued the man Tuesday afternoon.

Waited nearly two days for rescue
By Candice Boutilier
Herald staff writer

MOSES LAKE - Law enforcement credits a Moses Lake man with saving his own life after crashing his motorcycle and going unnoticed by vehicles driving past him for two days.

Bradley Beckstrom, 43, Moses Lake, reportedly crashed his sport motorcycle off Sage Road near Interstate 90 in Moses Lake, Grant County Sgt. Ron Renken said. It appears he crashed Sunday afternoon and was not located until Tuesday morning.

Beckstrom's 2006 Kawasaki Ninja motorcycle went off the steep, sandy embankment into a bushy reservoir area where he was not visible to drivers passing by.

For roughly two days, Beckstrom tried to catch the attention of passing drivers. He threw his wallet near the roadway hoping someone would see it and stop, Renken said. He also threw his red sweater into the tree limbs above him, which was eventually noticed by law enforcement.

"That's what saved his life," Renken said. "He saved his own life, no doubt about it."

He said Beckstrom had the right mindset to stay alive and did everything he was able to do to get noticed.

"He was going to survive this crash one way or another," Renken said.

When Beckstrom didn't come into work Monday in Royal City, his employer requested a welfare check, Renken said. Deputies checked his home finding the television on. It appeared someone just left the residence.

The state of the home was deemed suspicious and a search effort began, he said.

Deputies and Washington State Patrol troopers began searching the roadways between his home and his work with vehicles and a search plane, Renken said.

A trooper patrolling Sage Road spotted the red sweater and walked down the embankment to investigate, he said. Beckstrom was located and the Moses Lake Fire Department dispatched to rescue him.

Firefighters ventured down a steep embankment to reach Beckstrom and place him on a backboard. Once he was properly restrained, the backboard was pulled up the embankment with a rope as firefighters lifted and guided it above ground.

Beckstrom was transported to Samaritan Healthcare and later flown to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle for further treatment, Renken said.

He said Beckstrom is described as an experienced motorcycle rider.

Moses Lake Towing removed the motorcycle from the reservoir Tuesday afternoon. Law enforcement remained at the scene throughout the day investigating how the crash happened.

Details concerning his injuries were unavailable.

[A2rider]

Glad they found the sweater.

[BikerBeagle]

There's an independent film floating around ...was posted here last year, I think ...about a motorcycle wreck in the desert where the guy is able to stumble back to the road, dazed and confused, and catch a ride ...

(Giving away the ending here) ...but then the film shows that he was so dazed and confused that he forgot he'd been riding with his girlfriend/wife who was still laying in the desert.

Pretty powerful stuff. Glad this guy was able to get attention and that he lived ...but, let's see, a single vehicle accident involving a sportbike ...I don't even have to see the scene to know what happened.

[rogertech1]

That's some strong survival skills.

[kc6wfs]

Bummer he crashed, but very smart thoughts as he was going down!
Saved his life.

[Nate]

Glad he survived.

Sure, let's rag on a rider of a Ninja for no other reason than he was on a Ninja. Like a crusier rider has never run off the road due to gravel or wet leaves on the roadway or exceeding the posted speed limit in a curve or a high BAC. Sanctimonious buffoonery is unbecoming.

[sdbrit68]

Originally Posted by Nate

Glad he survived.

Sure, let's rag on a rider of a Ninja for no other reason than he was on a Ninja. Like a crusier rider has never run off the road due to gravel or wet leaves on the roadway or exceeding the posted speed limit in a curve or a high BAC. Sanctimonious buffoonery is unbecoming.

yeah...........not like we have all the information, like gravel on the road, maybe a car crossing the lines at him head on,tire blow out, animal,............ya know, all the variables that could cause an accident besides high rate of speed.

or, just maybe, he just blanked for a moment and lost operational integrity, that many others of all bikes have done before

[A2rider]

Originally Posted by Nate

Glad he survived.

Sure, let's rag on a rider of a Ninja for no other reason than he was on a Ninja. Like a crusier rider has never run off the road due to gravel or wet leaves on the roadway or exceeding the posted speed limit in a curve or a high BAC. Sanctimonious buffoonery is unbecoming.

This will probably go the way of the helmet thread, but don't care.

I'm tired of the crap that only sportbikes crash. And that they crash going XXXmph. If this were true, the pile of wrecked cruisers behind most shops wouldn't be there.

Debates are good. But like the 1/2 helmet thread, sportbikes vs cruisers obviously cannot be discussed, either.

[Jake '53]

Originally Posted by Nate

Glad he survived.

Sure, let's rag on a rider of a Ninja for no other reason than he was on a Ninja. Like a crusier rider has never run off the road due to gravel or wet leaves on the roadway or exceeding the posted speed limit in a curve or a high BAC. Sanctimonious buffoonery is unbecoming.

???? I'm still trying to figure out who ragged where.

[A2rider]

Originally Posted by Jake '53

???? I'm still trying to figure out who ragged where.

but, let's see, a single vehicle accident involving a sportbike ...I don't even have to see the scene to know what happened.

bikerbeagle

[MustBeNice]

Originally Posted by A2rider

Glad they found the sweater.

Better yet, glad law enforcment 'spotted' the sweat shirt, and went to investigate!! I think that's what you were inplying with that statement..... sounded a little funny the first time I read it!!

[zedx11]

I think BB likes getting threads closed.

just glad he made it out alive. I've been in one of those ditches before, low speed crash. luckily I was riding with someone that came back when he found out that I wasn't still behind him.

[Jake '53]

Originally Posted by A2rider

but, let's see, a single vehicle accident involving a sportbike ...I don't even have to see the scene to know what happened.

bikerbeagle

Okay. Thanks.

[A2rider]

Originally Posted by Jake '53

Okay. Thanks.

You're welcome. I have my stick out today, so beware!

[jaseman]

Originally Posted by Jake '53

???? I'm still trying to figure out who ragged where.

V
V
V
V

Originally Posted by BikerBeagle

Pretty powerful stuff. Glad this guy was able to get attention and that he lived ...but, let's see, a single vehicle accident involving a sportbike ...I don't even have to see the scene to know what happened.

I'll keep my mouth shut though. I don't think Beagle meant any offense to us sport riders.

[nedley]

-

[V2K_CCTX]

wow, this thread has been multiply hijacked!

[MotorCDR]

Originally Posted by BikerBeagle

...but, let's see, a single vehicle accident involving a sportbike ...I don't even have to see the scene to know what happened.

You want a job? Cop shops all over the country spend a lot of money training people in accident investigation. Think of how much they could save if they hired you!

There are way too many possible causes to make a determination just because it's a crotch rocket. It could be anything from brain fade to a blast of crosswind as a Peterbilt went past him going the other way.

[ImpactG]

Had a buddy who crashed his chopper over an embankment and lay there overnight until morning. He crawled up a 12' slope with a broken neck and was finally seen by an early morning jogger.

[maximum_babe]

Gee.. glad to know he was found.
That reminds me.. one more item to keep in the topbox/pannier/fannypack would be glowsticks.