A Motorcycle Wreck and the Price of the Thrill: What It Really Costs to Feel Alive

karchera43
14 minutes ago
6 min read

Credit: Lucas White

Lucas was only 19 when he put his helmet on for the last normal ride he would ever have. It was a warm July night, around 11pm. He was speeding down the roads letting off steam from the hot days work when suddenly he sped over a hill too fast and hit a light pole at 80mph. As he lay on the ground squirming and pulling at the earth, he had no idea what battle there was to follow.

Lucas was born on October 4th, 2005, in Mt. Vernon, IL, to his parents Aaron and Liz. He spent his early life in Herrin, IL living with his mother until deciding to relocate and live with his father in Hamilton County, IL so that he could join the trap team at the local school. His father Aaron had ridden motorcycles since he was 19, and he shared the interest with Lucas as they had grown closer living together. Lucas bought his first motorcycle when he was 15 and his second at 16. He spent hours working on his vintage Honda’s and learning how to ride with his dad providing helpful advice all the way through.

Credit: Danielle Gibbs

Lucas found his friends at school and while shooting trap. He bonded with Jesse in his English class that only had a pitiful six people in it. While stuck in a stuffy classroom together, Lucas and Jesse discovered that they had a common sense of humor. Lucas highlighted their mutual lack of respect for their own well being and edgy lifestyle. “I can remember sitting in class one day, and Jesse turned around in his desk and tried to stab me in the neck with a pencil. .He hit my collar bone.”

Lucas’s early work history was nearly as very colorful throughout high school and early after. He floated around from cooking at busy local pizza shops and basic patient care at the local hospital as a tech, all the way to hard labor doing construction during the day. However, he favored his job in construction the most; manual labor jobs where he could work outside had always spoken to him. He found that he was very fulfilled after a long day of work where he could be proud of something he had worked hard on and made with his own two hands.

Turning point: From AN INNOCENT HOBBY TO A DANGEROUS LIFESTYLE

Throughout high school Lucas outgrew his vintage maroon 1980 Honda CX500. He had spent tireless hours wrenching on the cheap old pieces of bike that weren't ever going to work right again. He decided to put the old Honda up for sale in February of 2024, the last semester of his senior year. Not even a month later he came across a great deal on a 2008 Suzuki SV650s. He never had an interest in sport bikes like this Suzuki, but the deal was too great to pass up.

Upon the purchase of his new Suzuki sport bike, he realized how night and day the difference was compared to the old 80’s Honda. Lucas described the Honda as, “...clunky, slow, and hard to control,” compared to the Suzuki which he said was, “ tight, there was no play, it felt together and precise.” The purchase of the new sport bike opened up a whole new world to him that he did not know existed. Lucas found that flying around curves and cutting through winding roads gave him a rush. It sparked a life long interest in sport bikes that he would keep forever.

On July 25th, 2024, Lucas was working construction in 90 degree heat under the radiating sun. Lucas stated, “ I was working with one of my old bosses; we were remodeling a bathroom, and it was really hot. I was looking forward to getting off and going riding with my friend. He was leaving for the marine corps. That would be one of the last times we were going to see each other for a little while.” After work, Lucas met up with his girlfriend for a few hours before leaving to meet up with Jesse to go ride. Lucas and Jesse met around 6pm that night unaware of what would follow.

A new confidence: a ride he wouldn't forget

The heat started to back off as the starry sky sliced through the sunny day. The sound of two V-twin engines roaring into the night filled the calm dry air. They stopped in a parking lot on Rend Lake in Ina, IL at around 10pm. After showing off and popping wheelies in front of a group of teens, Lucas finally took off to leave the parking lot at around 11:30pm with a new found confidence. He flew out onto Rend Lake Dam road and pinned the throttle.

Lucas flew up the quarter mile strip as he gained distance on Jesse. He tucked his head under the tinted windshield, and looked to the streetlights that he thought were straight to his side. He then realized that the next light wasn't going to be beside him, but in front of him. Rend Lake Dam Road curved and turned into Mine Road and before he could act he crashed. His attempt to brake and dump the bike was a failure, and the front right side of his bike hit the massive metal pole, Lucas was flung 50 feet off the side of the road.

“...the last number I remember seeing was 108.”

Lucas was in shock. He had made it 400 yards down the road in 12 seconds after leaving that parking lot, and then he came to a sudden stop. Lucas said, “I was screaming and grabbing onto the grass, and I was rolling around for a few seconds before Jesse actually reached me.” Jesse got to Lucas and held him still until the ambulance arrived. Lucas recalls feeling his tibia being in two pieces and rubbing against each other. Jesse's account of what happened stated that as Lucas hit the pole and flew off the bike. His legs caught the handlebars, and that's what caused the break.

Soon after the ambulance arrived, they administered pain medication and transported Lucas to a local hospital. Lucas recalls the agonizing pain breaking through the medication. As the doctors and nurses attempted to put his leg into a splint and the pieces of his lower leg bone would hit each other, Lucas wailed in agony. He has not forgotten the intensity of his pain,

“That was probably the most painful thing I have ever experienced in my life.”

He was originally taken to Carbondale, IL, where he received his treatment. He recalled waking up from his first surgery screaming for help as the pain medication he was on didn’t numb the break at all. He stayed in the Carbondale hospital for a week. Lucas hadn’t realized it yet, but this release back home to where it felt safe, would soon feel like a prison.

Lucas wouldn’t stand on his feet for two weeks, and he wouldn’t walk for three months after being discharged. He recalls this 3 month time span, which ended around October 2024, in a mostly negative light. It would be around January when he began to work at the local hospital in Hamilton County again. This time he was not coming to work as a tech but rather behind a desk to do reception, as he couldn't stand or walk for long periods.

The start of the struggle: Problems on top of problems

Lucas started out his new job coming into work with a crutch. He struggled to get around normally everyday. For Lucas these winter months were extremely difficult to learn how to walk in. The ice and snow proved to be an even larger obstacle than they used to be, and his leg refused to comply. Lucas’s early months of coming back into normal life were a dramatic shift in culture and just the beginning of his struggle.

Lucas had another surgery in the fall of 2025 to repair his ACL. Over a year after the injury Lucas had made great progress in walking and mobility, but not far enough to do the activities he used to do. When prompted with a question about what he misses doing the most he answered, “hiking and running.” With physical therapy and an additional surgery coming up in March of 2026, Lucas is slowly making headway to being able to do the things he used to love, like running, lifting, and just walking normally. But there is still a lot of progress to be made.

Near the end of his interview Lucas was asked the question, “Do you regret getting on the bike that day?” Lucas hesitated.

“I don’t regret getting on the bike; I regret going as fast as I was and not thinking... but it happened for a reason.”

His advice to himself that night or to another rider would be, “don’t just live entirely in the moment, because that's how you wreck.”

In his own words Lucas was, “just a typical teenager.” His life was put at a standstill, he could no longer ride, his relationships suffered endlessly, and he lost the ability to follow his passions in manual labor. Every day is still a struggle for him.“ I lay awake most nights and think how everything could be different.” Yet, he strives to return to who he once was. A kid that never knew the cost, on his bike flying down the road again.