Motorbike racer who crashed at 110mph and almost died walks out of the NRC to return home | Latest news

A semi-professional motorcyclist who lost control of his bike during a race and crashed into a stationary ambulance at 110mph has been able to walk out of the National Rehabilitation Centre (NRC) and return home. 

Brandon Wright, 22, from Lincoln, was racing in a Supersport heat at Aberdare Park in Wales on 1 August of this year when he lost control of his Yamaha R6 on a bend and hit a stationary ambulance on the side of the track at immense speed.

Brandon was flung 30ft, went into cardiac arrest and both his lungs deflated. His other injuries included a broken back, broken ribs, a broken wrist and a significant traumatic brain injury which impacts his memory, speech and some of his vision.

He was airlifted to Cardiff’s University Hospital of Wales where they saved his life, before he was transferred to Queen’s Medical Centre (QMC) and then onto the brand-new cutting-edge NRC , both run by Nottingham University Hospitals.

Brandon explained that he cannot remember the accident, but has been told what happened by his dad who was watching the race.

Brandon said: “I can’t remember any of it. I remember driving up with my dad the day before and walking the track, and then nothing.

“In my memory now, there is a blank spot and the next thing I remember is a few days after I woke up from my coma.

“I’ve been told I lost control of the bike, missed a load of things, went through the hay bales and hit the side of the ambulance.

“I went from 110mph to 0 in the blink of an eye, and I came off worse than the bike. I was dead for a few minutes.”

After three weeks in the hospital in Cardiff, Brandon was transferred to QMC whilst still in a coma, and he woke up on the Intensive Care Unit another week later. 

He said: “After 22 years, I’ve woken up after my coma and don’t know where I am.”

Brandon’s parents Sapriye and Dean stayed with him as he recovered, and when he was transferred to the NRC they were the first people to use the family accommodation at the centre so that they didn’t have to keep travelling back to Lincoln.

As Brandon had been in a coma for a month, he had muscle wastage throughout his body, known as ‘deconditioning’ and therefore arrived at the NRC in a wheelchair.

The physiotherapists set about putting Brandon through his paces in the gym, including on the stationary bikes, treadmills and leg press, to help him to build up the strength to walk again.

He was also supported by a full team of occupational therapists, speech and language therapists, psychologists, rehabilitation nurses, and many other colleagues throughout the centre.

Brandon says that he is so pleased he was able to have his rehabilitation at the NRC as it has made such a difference in his recovery.

He said: “I’m so grateful I was transferred to the NRC. I would not be the person I am now if I hadn’t come here.

“The staff are amazing, they’ve helped me so much. They want the best for you as much as you want it for yourself.

“The facilities are really good and that gym is unbelievable – it’s more technologically advanced than any gym I’ve seen. You don’t feel like you’re in a hospital.”

During his time at the NRC, Brandon has focussed on doing everything he can to recover so that he can get back to doing the things he loves the most.

He said: “I want to get back to the person I used to be, the person I knew before the accident.

“Most of all, I want to get back on my bike. I know it sounds daft, but as soon as I am feeling okay in myself, I want to get back on a bike. I have unfinished business.”

Incredibly, after six weeks at the NRC, Brandon was able to walk out of the doors and return to his family home in Lincoln where he is continuing his rehabilitation.

He said: “It’s been nice being back in my own room, but it’s also been weird waking up in my own environment and feeling different to the way I used to.

“Now I’m at home, the realisation of what has happened has hit me a bit more and I’m grieving the person I used to be.

“But I’m still pushing forwards. I’m walking four miles every day and doing my exercises and I’m staying motivated to get back to the best version of me I can.”

Before the accident, Brandon was a machine technician in a factory and spent all his spare time working on his motorbikes in his garage.

He is planning to return to work towards the end of the year and is awaiting the recovery of his bike which survived the accident so that he can begin working on it again.

Most of all, Brandon says that he has a new appreciation for life, and he recognises how fortunate he is to be alive.

He said: “I understand how lucky I am. To be dead at the scene and to be where I am now, I am so lucky.

“I am more grateful for life, I am grateful to be sat here – I could be six feet under.”