CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (CLARKSVILLENOW) – A young man is recovering after losing his leg in a horrific motorcycle crash Wednesday afternoon on Tiny Town Rd.
Javon Bullard’s mother, Jolene Hardy, says her son is alive today thanks to the efforts of two soldiers who rendered aid at the scene.
The incident was first reported Wednesday at 3:33 p.m. near the intersection of Tobacco Rd. Clarksville Police spokesman Jim Knoll said the 26-year-old man was driving his 2007 Honda motorcycle east in the right lane of Tiny Town Rd. and was crossing the Tobacco Rd. intersection with a green light.
He was followed by Hardy, as the two were on their way to retrieve property from her truck, which was at an impound lot. Just one day before, Hardy’s husband had been arrested for driving the truck and an attached 16-ft. trailer through a bail bonding building on Providence Blvd.
A 59-year-old woman driving a 2004 Toyota Camry was headed west on Tiny Town Rd. and turning south onto Tobacco Rd. with a green light, but no arrow. Police said she failed to yield and turned left in front of the motorcycle.
Bullard’s motorcycle slammed into the side of the Toyota, flipped, and slid into the oncoming lanes.
Hardy was in her car behind her son and witnessed the crash.
“I saw the whole thing happen,” she said. “It’s something I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy, to see your own child mangled.”
Hardy described a heartbreaking scene as she jumped from her vehicle and ran through traffic to get to her son. She said Bullard tried to stand but was unable to because his leg and foot had been severed.
“I thought he was dead. I touched him and he was screaming that his skin was on fire,” Hardy said.
She said she was focused mostly on her son, but that it appeared the driver of the Toyota drove away from the scene.
Two soldiers who were in the area at the time rushed to help Bullard, who was still lying in the road and losing a significant amount of blood. 1st Lieutenant Loy O’Kelley said he ran to the scene when he saw blood on the road and heard a woman (Hardy) screaming.
Bullard’s leg was severed below the knee, so 1LT O’Kelley removed his jacket to apply pressure to the wound. A second unidentified soldier used his belt to make a tourniquet.
The men worked together to stanch the bleeding enough to keep Bullard alive as they waited for paramedics.
“Thank god for the military men,” Hardy said.
When help arrived, Bullard was transported by LifeFlight helicopter to Vanderbilt Medical Center, where he remains in critical but stable condition. Hardy said her son’s leg had to be amputated and he suffered other injuries, including a punctured lung.
Though he has a long road to recovery, Hardy knows Bullard will be able to get through the rehabilitation process.
“He’s very strong and he’s young,” she said.
Bullard was coherent Thursday and his breathing tube was removed. He is still in shock, but he was able to make jokes and speak to his family.
Hardy, who is handicapped and a mother of eight children, is working to process the traumatic ordeal, along with the crash involving her husband, Richard Hardy, in the span of only two days.
She said she is the owner of the truck her husband was driving. She is working with the owner of the bail bonding company that was damaged and wants to do her part to help.
Knoll said the investigation into the motorcycle crash is ongoing and charges are pending. Police have not yet provided more information about the driver of the Toyota.
