Lucky to be alive after bike, car crash

Riding his off-road motorcycle home from a mate’s house, Dardanup teenager Jake Lilly made the near fatal mistake of crossing a quiet country road in front of an oncoming car.

The Subaru hatchback was travelling 80kmh when the 14-year-old was hit, the impact throwing him off his beloved bike.

He broke both of his femurs, right ankle, left foot, left elbow, right arm, and right wrist and fractured his skull in the crash — among countless other injuries.

When the ambulance arrived, Jake was bleeding from his left femur.

He was airlifted to Perth where he went straight into surgery and spent a week in a coma.

In the days after his crash, doctors warned Jake’s parents Ellen and Stephen Lilly – owners of the Bull and Bush Tavern – to prepare for the worst.

“They told us he was not likely to survive his injuries or his surgery,” she said.

“He was in a coma for seven days. They tried lots of things but he didn’t wake up and at day six they told us they wanted to turn off his ventilator.

“The neurologist thought it would prompt him to breathe on his own, which it did but he took two more days to wake up.”

Looking at her son now, Mrs Lilly can’t believe he is alive – let alone walking and talking.

She said his protective clothing saved his life because he did not lose any skin in the crash.

Arriving home from Princess Margaret Hospital last week, Jake said he cried when he saw his smashed-up Honda motorcycle.

He said many of his mates had been left shaken by the incident and it had prompted them to rethink their motorcycle safety.

According to Kidsafe, 399 children – from babies to 15-years-olds, had presented to PMH’s emergency department with motorcycle-related injuries in the past five years.

Of those, 353 were boys.

South West traffic officer-in-charge Sgt Craig Clarke said Jake was lucky to be alive given the severity of his injuries.

Sgt Clarke reminded children and teenagers — on bicycles, skateboards, scooters, motorcycles or on foot— to make sure the road was clear before crossing.