‘My leg exploded’: Miraculous survival of car vs. motorcycle crash

BRANDON, S.D. (KELO) — Many motorcycle versus car crashes end up being fatal, which is why one Brandon man is grateful to be alive. While the road to recovery will be a long one, he tells us about the miracles that have happened along the way.

Chase Hoffman’s life has been turned upside down since a driver made an illegal u-turn in August, and crashed into Chase while he was riding his motorcycle.

“They hit my leg and the next thing I remember, I was just bouncing and rolling on the road,” hit by car while on motorcycle, Chase Hoffman said.

“His leg was completely flipped around. I saw the bottom of his shoe from the top of his head like I was looking down at him and I could see the treads on the bottom of his shoe. His foot was that turned,” Chase’s wife, Ashley Hoffman said.

While Chase’s life was spared, the injuries to his right leg are extensive.

“Multiple compound fractures. Actually, my tibia broke in like four or five places. There was some bone missing already right there on scene. So it was like, you know, pretty much like my leg exploded in a way,” Chase said.

Many people didn’t know if Chase’s leg could be saved.

“I honestly thought he was going to lose his leg,” Ashley said.

“So at first they were like, yeah, he’s not keeping his leg. Like the trauma surgeon went in and the I think the first thing they did was like they actually just kind of like straightened my leg out and got it like braced just because there was there was no bone connecting my knee to my foot,” Chase said.

Four surgeries later, the odds of Chase keeping his leg have improved a lot.

“If things go sideways, then there’s really no going back and fixing it. So we’re not out of the woods yet, but it’s looking better every day,” Chase said.

Many people would be angry at the person who hit him, but Chase isn’t.

“I forgave the guy probably like the next day I was like, you know what? My energy needs to be focused on getting better,” Chase said.

While the crash has changed the Hoffmans lives, they say there are numerous miracles in Chase’s story.

“So we found out later that I actually had hit the ground and bounced five times and every time my head– it hit the ground as well. So I was wearing my helmet and thank God because, you know, honestly, that probably saved my life,” Chase said.

“The fact that his leg was holding on by literally soft tissue there, there was nothing connecting his leg. And for him to be able to wiggle his toes that night, they had him wiggling his toes in the hospital and there was nothing there. Like there’s nothing there. It just it shouldn’t have happened. His leg should have been gone,” Ashley said.

Today, Chase and his family are doing their best to heal and move forward.

“But we’re leaning into the fact that something good can come from this. And whatever that is, we’re 100% on board. We just want to bring glory to God in this situation,” Chase said.

Because of the accident, Chase is unable to go to work for the foreseeable future.

There will be a poker run on September 28 for Chase and his family, along with a silent auction to help the family during this time.

Click here for information on the GoFundMe.

Click here for information on the Poker Run.