THIS WEEK IN 1996: Teenage motorcyclist barely cheats death

A teenage motorcyclist told The News how he cheated death by grabbing at the wheels of a truck to stop himself being crushed beneath them.

By The Newsroom

Published 7th May 2017, 06:00 BST

Updated 9th May 2017, 18:37 BST

Charles Goulding was almost killed when his brakes failed in wet conditions at a road junction near Fareham and he slid out into the path of a lorry.

The 17-year-old, who was thrown off his 50cc bike, fell under the lorry and was struck by the front wheels and flung towards the back.

But as the driver slammed on the brakes and the wheels locked the teenager was able to grab the back wheels and push himself out of their path before they crushed him.

Charles, a trainee fitter at Tricool Engineering at Segensworth industrial estate, later recovered at Queen Alexandra Hospital, Cosham, suffering just cuts and bruises.

‘The first thing I saw was the truck coming straight at me and I was dragged under the front wheels,’ said Charles, of St Thomas’ Road, Gosport.

‘The next thing I saw was the back wheels coming at me and they hit me.

‘I wasn’t in much pain, just shock.’

Fareham Gosport