Ducati Crash: Photographer Captures Accident That Claimed His Leg

A photographer who was struck by a Ducati motorbike as it crashed in the south of France lost his leg following the accident, but managed to capture the incident on video.

Noel Greaves-Lord, a father of three from Worthing in West Sussex, traveled to Cannes in order to film as a favor to a friend, according to the Daily Mail. As he recorded a pair of Ducati motorcycles rounding a corner, however, the bike nearest to him lost control, barreling straight for him.

“The bike just slipped out and it happened very, very quickly,” he recalled.

“You replay it in your mind and think could I have done anything different to get out of the way but there was nothing I could do. I just stuck my leg out to protect myself and it hit the sole of my foot and broke my ankle but luckily it pushed me out of harm’s way. It could’ve been so much worse. It could’ve killed me.”

Though Greaves-Lord survived the crash, the impact of the Ducati left a bone protruding from the 52-year-old’s skin, where his ankle had fractured.

“I was in extreme pain and was conscious the whole time and aware something was seriously wrong… I thought I’d lost my leg right then and there. But my friend who was a medic explained everything would be okay and an ambulance came. It took eight minutes apparently but it was the longest eight minutes of my life.”

‘I filmed motorbike crash that cost me my right leg’: Cameraman’s horror in Cannes http://t.co/2qVneXr8KQ pic.twitter.com/9wWugiZRRy

— DRP News Link (@DRPsynd) May 20, 2014

Though he underwent several surgeries over the following year to repair the damage his right ankle suffered in the crash, Greaves-Lord contracted an untreatable form of MRSA. Doctors were then forced to amputate his right leg, saving his life but leaving him with a prosthetic. The amputation forced him to give up his job, according to the Metro, covering sporting events for the BBC, Sky and ITV.

Last year, a similar motorcycle crash was filmed using a GoPro camera. As the Inquisitr previously noted, the crash wasn’t fatal for the driver, despite his speed of 140 mph.

After four years of legal wrangling following the crash, Greaves-Lord recently won a compensation case against the Ducati’s insurers. The payout will cover his financial losses since the crash, which took place in October of 2010, as well as the ongoing costs of his rehabilitation.

Greaves-Lord noted that the last several years had been devastating as he struggled to come to terms with the loss of his leg, and the changes that the Ducati crash wrought in his life.

[Image: Noel Greaves-Lord/ SWNS.com via the Daily Mail]