Leigh-on-Sea motorbike crash leaves rider needing jaw wired shut

A motorcyclist whose jaw was wired shut to prevent his face from collapsing after a horror crash has vowed to never buy a motorbike again.

Callum Baldwin, 23, was hurled into the air after he was knocked over by a van in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, in April 2022.

Mr Baldwin was awarded more than £100,000 after taking legal action against the van driver.

"I saw the car coming towards me and I thought… I'm dead," said Mr Baldwin, a renderer from Canewdon near Hockley.

He said he was riding a Yamaha motorbike at 30mph (48km/h) when a van cut him off and knocked him into a parked car.

Mr Baldwin was taken to Southend Hospital before being transferred to Broomfield Hospital in Chelmsford.

Doctors were forced to wire his jaw shut after scans revealed he had fractures to his cheek and chin.

He had bitten straight through his tongue and shattered several teeth.

One of his teeth came loose a few days after the crash but with his jaw wired shut, Mr Baldwin was unable to open his mouth so had no choice but to swallow it, he told PA Media.

"There was nothing I could do, he just cut me up - crushing my knee and foot and then I was flying in the air," he said.

"I can't believe I survived. Someone ran over to me and asked if I was dead."

The 23-year-old had been driving at about 07:35 BST on 8 April 2022 to drop off some keys for work when the crash occurred.

He said for the next eight weeks his diet consisted of blended ice creams, yoghurts and water consumed through gaps in his teeth.

Two years after the incident, Mr Baldwin said he still suffered from being hyper sensitive to the cold, which made his face ache.

He made a claim with his lawyer Rachel Flannigan, of Express Solicitors, and she said: "Callum is a very lucky man. His injuries could easily have been fatal and have now left him with lifelong implications."

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