Florida

Motorcyclist's Death-Defying Stunt Saves Him in Car Crash

A motorcyclist walked away from an accident relatively unscathed after a near-death car accident sent him cartwheeling over a vehicle in the middle of a busy intersection.

Mike Smith was riding his motorcycle in Clearwater, Florida, when he was hit by a car, prompting him to eject himself into the air. He landed on his feet uninjured, but slightly stunned.

A red light video at the intersection caught the acrobatic spectacle on May 24. In it, the driver of a 2003 Mitsubishi Galant is seen turning left in front of Smith, 22, and then colliding with him and totaling his motorcycle.

“He's just waiting in the middle of the intersection. I'm coming up Belcher,” Smith told WFLA in an interview. “He's making a left on Gulf to Bay. He just comes out. He just comes out of nowhere.”

Smith, a server at the local IHOP, was not wearing a helmet that day. He walked away from the crash with a scuffed elbow, hand, leg and back.

"That guy could have killed me that day. Real talk," he said.

On Thursday Smith was buying a new motorcycle in Largo, Florida, and said he plans to be more careful on the road but still won't wear a helmet.

“I'm not gonna lie. I was a little scared hopping on that one today," Smith said. "But I think I'm back to normal.”

Clearwater Police cited the driver of the car, Alex Jay Hall, 27, for an improper left turn, and driving with a suspended license.

Police gave Smith a ticket for not having a motorcycle endorsement, which allows a driver to operate a motorcycle on public streets.

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