Iowa Hawkeyes football team nearly lost the captain of their offensive line.  Center Josh Koeppel survived a head-on collision with a pick-up truck that turned left in front of him a couple days ago.  Koeppel was not wearing a helmet, which is legal in Iowa, and he walked away without serious injury.  He was incredibly lucky to have only suffered some road rash and soreness.  A police dashboard camera video caught the dramatic motorcycle accident.

Here's a link to the video:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0tXisw8Dp8

Most people would not be as lucky Josh Koeppel.  His training as a very big football lineman who is used to taking big hits probably helped, but in no way should anyone expect to be so lucky in the same situation.

The truck failed to yield to Koeppel's right of way.  This is a left hook type of accident, and is the most common motorcycle accident we see in our Washington motorcycle accident practice.  Vehicles turning left sometimes simply fail to see a motorcycle that is coming straight at them and turn right in front of the bike.  As you can see in the video the motorcycle rider had no time to avoid the collision.

Injuries from motorcycle crashes like Koeppel's usually involve broken bones, and when no helmet is worn, more often than not traumatic brain injuries result and sometimes the worse case scenario death.  

Wear a helmet, it will save your life.