M20 miracle rider admits his first thoughts after crash were for his beloved motorbike
Jim Shaw, 70, narrowly avoided death as he slid underneath the wreckage on his bike
THE biker who cheated death when the M20 bridge collapsed has revealed his first thought was for his beloved machine.
Jim Shaw, 73, escaped with minor injuries after skidding sideways at 70mph beneath the falling debris on the motorway.
The school bus driver, riding a £5,500 Yamaha MT-07, said: “I had a split second to think, it was more survival instinct. I made a snap decision to lay the bike down and slid right under the wreckage.
“My first thought when I came to rest was, ‘Oh well, there goes my bike’. It was a great bike.”
Jim, of Thamesmead, South East London, was rushed to hospital with five broken ribs.
The motorcycle on its side after the Jim's great escape as the foot bridge collapsed
He narrowly avoided death on Saturday as he returned from a biker cafe in Maidstone, Kent.The bridge, between junctions three and four, came down on the London-bound carriageway after being hit by a lorry carrying a digger.
Jim’s wife Doreen, 68, learned he was in hospital after calling to ask him to bring the washing in.
She said: “It was totally surreal. Our two daughters have started calling him Evel Knievel.
“I’m just glad he’ll live to fight another day.”
Jim, who has three grandkids, said: “It hasn’t put me off riding one bit.
“If I’d been in my car I would have been killed, because you can’t jump out of a moving car.”
His bike is set to be written-off. Jim said: “Maybe it’s fate — time to upgrade.”
Highways England said the half of the bridge left dangling over traffic has been made safe.