Posted on 07/28/2008 9:40:06 AM PDT by TnGOP
By Amanda Compton-Ortiz/amanda@dctribune.com Thursday, July 24, 2008 2:16 PM CDT
A Sunday afternoon drive on his new 1300 Honda may have ended in disaster for 51-year-old Jim Kelder of Olive Branch, but thanks to the bravery of one young man his riding days aren't over yet.
"I'm grateful there are people like him in this world," said Jim of 16-year-old Truman Gullett of Byhalia. "If it wasn't for him I don't think I'd still be standing here."
As fate would have it, Jim, an employee at FedEx, and Truman, a freshman football player at Lewisburg Middle-High School, crossed each other's paths at just the right place and time.
It was around 5 p.m. July 6 on Myers Road in the Lewisburg/Ingrams Mill area near Byhalia.
It was a beautiful, sunny day and Jim was taking his two-week old motorcycle out for a spin. He had chosen the backroad route that day to get away from traffic and enjoy the peace and tranquility of the countryside. Jim was traveling northbound on Myers, an unfamiliar road he was forced to take as a detour, and Truman, along with his mother, was driving south down the road, which he had decided was the shortest route to his girlfriend's house.
Both were approaching a curve in the road when before they knew it, Jim had run off the road and fallen down a steep embankment. "While I was driving, I was watching him come up on that curve," Truman said, "and I remember looking over at my mom and saying 'I think that man on that motorcycle is going to wreck.'"
Seconds after the motorcycle left the road, Truman wasted no time. He stopped, jumped out of his car and immediately started running to Jim's aid. He even threw off his shoes to pick up speed.
"I didn't think twice (about helping him)," Truman said. "My dad rides motorcycles and I thought if something like that ever happened to him I would want someone to help him."
After spotting Jim, who was trapped between the bike -- already partially engulfed in flames -- and a bed of large washed rocks, Truman, barefoot, climbed down the embankment and lifted the 500- to 600-pound bike to free him. "That fire was hot and the bike was heavy," Truman said. "I guess it must have been my adrenaline that gave me the strength to do it. All I was thinking is I've got to get this man out of here."
According to Jim and Truman, several wrecks have occured at that same spot on Myers Road following Jim's accident. One of the accidents involved some of Truman's classmates who suffered only minor injuries.
Jim, conscious but disoriented from the fall, said that day he had remembered seeing a young man and a woman, Truman's mother, help him up onto his feet and up the hill to the road to safety just seconds before his bike burst into flames. He also recalled receiving some assistance from local resident Gena Wallace, a nurse who was following behind him at the time of the accident. Another witness, who was also a nurse, was present as well as another area resident whose vehicle was equipped with a first-aid kit and a small fire extinguisher that was used to help put out some of the flames until emergency crews arrived on the scene.
"It was a miracle," Jim said. "That young, courageous boy, two nurses and a man with a fire extinguisher were all there when I went off the road. Now I don't believe that was just coincidence. I think that by the grace of God, all of the right people were there at the right time."
Jim returned home from The Med last week and had the rare opportunity to meet Truman face-to-face and thank him for saving his life. "I don't think there was any way I could've lifted my bike off of me by myself," Jim said. "That boy was a blessing; an angel. He saved my life."
Jim, who has plans to soon return to work and motorcylce riding, suffered a broken arm, a couple chipped bones in his left leg, a broken ankle, two broken ribs and a punctured lung. He also has some minor cuts and bruises.
"It was a freak accident I guess," said Jim, who has been trying to figure out what exactly caused the accident. "There seems to be no real explanation for it. I remember when I was riding that day, I saw that the road was curving to the left, I wasn't speeding, and the road was a good-shaped two-lane. I just really don't know what happened."
Jim added that he's no rookie either. He's been riding motorcycles since he was in college. This was the fifth bike he's owned, and he's never before had any real serious accidents - even while taking trips to Memphis during rush-hour traffic. He added that with gas prices on the rise, he had bought the bike to save money.
According to the DeSoto County Sheriff's accident report, Jim was not speeding when he ran off the road. He was only traveling about 40 miles per hour.
"I don't know if I'll ever find out how I ran off the road that day," Jim said, "but what really matters is that I'm still here. God was watching over me."
I thought so ... Bush's fault
Naturally, I thought this was about the 250,000 or so Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines who lived to come home, raise up their families and say good bye to their grandchildren because a Mr. Truman from 63 years ago didn’t have to think twice.
With that said, Bravo Zulu, young Mr Truman!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.