77-year-old Dave Glade is looking for the woman who held his hand after a serious motorcycle crash north of the small Mendocino County town of Laytonville on May 15 of this year.
“I don’t have any recollection of her saying anything, but she took my hand and it was almost as if she was an angel that was in the form of a lady,” he told us by phone from his Southern California home where he is still recovering from six fractures in left shoulder and a broken rib. “The feeling was just so comforting–so genuine, and I felt better. I think she said more to me from her hand holding my hand than she could have said with any words. I will never forget her.”
Glade and one of his sons had set out in May to go on a three week motorcycle road trip that he said was on his bucket list of things to do before he died. “I’m no kid,” he pointed out. “I don’t know how many years I have left. The prospect of doing this was on my bucket list.”
But, “It was only day four when I crashed,” he explained regretfully.
Glade blames himself for the accident. “There’s a term in motorcycle riding called ‘target fixation.’ he explained. “What happens is, if you point your eyes and your nose at a target, your motorcycle is going to go to the target.”
Glade told us that he was going around a bend in the road near a gravel turnout area. “There was one car in that turnout area and I thought I saw a reflection or the tail lights that flashed momentarily,” he said. “But even though I was saying turn, turn, turn in my mind–my motorcycle followed my nose and went right for the car. The bike went out from under me.”
But Glade said that he feels that the bike falling luckily kept him from striking the car.
“My son was about 75 yards ahead approximately,” Glade said. “He had a rear-facing GoPro which…captured me going down.” But Glade’s son didn’t see his father’s crash. “He continued riding on.,” Glade told us. “He had no idea.”
Glade credits his equipment with saving him from getting damaged even more. “I always ride with full gear,” he explained. “I think after having seen the video of the crash itself,my gear really saved my life. My helmet saved my face..saved my head. I didn’t lose skin. I didn’t lose blood. Well, I had some internal bleeding but nothing at the surface…so that’s my plug for wearing gear.”
Glade said he doesn’t really remember much of what happened at first. “If you can imagine, I am laying on my back,” he told us. “I still have all my gear on…I kept asking to take my helmet off, but they said I should wait until medical personnel arrived…My mental processes weren’t really good at the time,” he pointed out. “There was shock and adrenaline screwing with my head.”
But he does remember the woman. “She is the first one that I saw,” he told us. “She didn’t do much. She didn’t say much. She just held my hand…I can’t express what that meant to me as I remained flat on my back with multiple fractures of a shoulder and rib…If I can find her, it seems like a proper thank you would be in order.”
But, Glade says, he can’t believe how kind and helpful so many people were. “The officer from the Hwy Patrol, the other emergency workers, the paramedics the people who came to my aid–what a good face to put on humanity especially during these trying times…Everyone that was there at the accident site gave me a real appreciation for the humanity in folks.”
Another motorcyclist–a stranger–chased down his son and, Glade says the man told his son, “Your buddy is back there. You need to go back.”
Glade said his son was terribly worried about him, but had the presence of mind to flip the GoPro so it filmed from the front as he hurried back to the accident scene. That footage that he captured gives him hope that someone will recognize his kind helper.
“Just the touch of her hand…It was the most comforting experience I can think of.”
Glade enthused about how many people helped him. “I was transported to Willits Howard Memorial Hospital where I got excellent treatment,” he said and went on to mention three people in particular. The first was in the ambulance on the way to the hospital. “The paramedic went above and beyond,” Glade explained. “He kept the conversation going to try and get my mind in a better place and not think about the pain.”
Then he praised the primary doctor. “There was this gentleman that did such a wonderful job,” Glade said. “[He was an] Orthopedic surgeon at Howard Memorial–Yoshihiro Katsuura…[In the hospital, I lost track of time. There was a lot of pain. This gentlemen attended to us.”
In order to be near his family, Glade opted to get surgery for his shoulder closer to home, but Dr. Yoshihiro Katsuura gave him his card and the two have kept up an email correspondence.
The third person he mentioned was a Physician’s Assistant who in preparation for Glade being released from the hospital, found a motel for he and both sons (another and flown and driven up to be with his father and brother after the crash.) “There is no cab service,” he explained. “It is a small town…The PA actually drove me to the hotel. You don’t get that kind of treatment in Southern California. Everyone was so good to me it kind of leaves me reeling…The folks were just couldn’t have been better to us to both of my sons and myself.”
But he particularly wants to thank the kind woman who held his hand. “I would dearly love to give her a proper thank you,” he said. “This lady with that touch went way beyond what I could imagine.”
He told us, “It is straight from the heart…I don’t want anything…I just want to say thanks. He said that the gratitude he feels “goes especially to that lady but it also goes to that collection of everyone that helped.”
He added that he hopes to come to this area again. “As bad as that accident was…I cant wait to get back on the bike again. Maybe my son and I can finish the trip… .”
Dave Glade is asking for anyone who might know anything about the woman who might possibly be named Nichole to reach out to him at his email address, dave.glade@sbcglobal.net.
Aww what a great story. I hope she is found!
What no mask and hand sanitizer? Danger lurks
She has those beautiful dark curls! An amazing experience and story – hope she receives this heartfelt message.
God bless you Dave. I hope you find her. If not, she may have been a literal Angel! Angels are real according to the Bible, and can look like people. I’m really glad you weren’t hurt worse. I’m saying a prayer for you and your sons this morning. My heart goes out to you all. ♥️🙏🏼