Motorcycle accident injures man

Thursday, February 12, 2009 3:07 AM  |  Printer friendly version | E-mail to a friend |

By Kathy Chaffin

Salisbury Post

A western Rowan County man was seriously injured Saturday night when he apparently lost control of his motorcycle on Hilltop Lane and ended up sliding under a truck parked in a neighbor's driveway.

A helicopter flew Cody Garrison, a recent graduate of West Rowan High School, to Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte after the accident. He was conscious and talking the whole time, according to Robert Miller of 125 Hilltop Lane. Miller witnessed the accident and applied pressure to one of Garrison's wounds until emergency personnel arrived at the scene.

Information on Garrison's condition was not available at presstime.

The accident happened at the intersection of Hilltop Lane and London Road about a mile from the Iredell County line. A spokesman for the Rowan 911 Center said the call came in at 7:38 p.m.

Miller, his wife and their two sons were in their driveway getting ready to go to Mooresville to play putt-putt and bowl when Garrison stopped by on the motorcycle. He told them he was scheduled to leave today for boot camp with the Marines and seemed excited about going.

Miller said they wished Garrison well and told him "he didn't need to be one of the stories you hear going on."

Though Garrison had owned a motorcycle for more than a year, Miller said he was trying out someone else's bike. Garrison drove the eighth of a mile to the cul de sac of Hilltop Lane, then opened up the throttle while starting back.

He started to skid near their mailbox, Miller said. As the rear wheel rose off the ground, Garrison apparently applied his rear brake and then appeared to panic "and opened the throttle back up" and headed full speed across London Road into Stephanie and Todd Parks' driveway.

They were inside with their son, T.J., Stephanie Parks said, when they heard "a loud bang" and went outside to see what happened.

The motorcycle slid under Parks' Ford F-250 with Garrison underneath it.

Miller ran over and saw that Garrison's leg appeared broken and the handlebar had plunged into his neck. Miller said he held a towel that a neighbor provided on Garrison's neck until emergency personnel arrived.

Garrison was talking the whole time, he said, and his pulse was strong.

"He was doing OK," Miller said. "He could move. ... He's going to be fine."

Miller said he hopes Garrison recovers quickly so he can begin his service with the Marines.

Trooper A.J. Carpenter investigated the accident for the N.C. Highway Patrol. He said at the scene that he had not been able to talk to Garrison and was on his way to Carolinas Medical Center.