Roger Chan can still hear his own screams, piercing the roar of Austin traffic two days before Thanksgiving.
He remembers the searing pain of being dragged along West Cesar Chavez Street as his foot was grinding away, then looking down to see nothing but mangled flesh, bone and blood.
In a potentially life-saving, split-second decision minutes later, he gave doctors permission to amputate his left leg at the calf.
[...]
Chan, a former Austin assistant city manager, had been on his way Nov. 23 to celebrate his 59th birthday — by helping cook meals for people in need at the H-E-B Feast of Sharing Holiday Dinner at the Palmer Events Center.
Wearing a chef's jacket, cooking clogs and a helmet, he'd driven his Indian Spirit motorcycle from his Northwest Hills home, down MoPac Boulevard (Loop 1) and exited onto Cesar Chavez Street around 2:30 p.m.
Chan said that as he passed Lamar Boulevard, a white sedan heading east in the left lane almost swerved into him. Chan, in the far right lane, yelled at the driver — "What is wrong with you?" — and wondered if he might be changing radio stations or talking on the phone.
Then, Chan said, the car pushed his motorcycle into a curb, causing his front wheel to swing out and latch onto the car. He said he tried to free the motorcycle, but was instead dragged — he has no idea how far — down the street.
"It was raw, unadulterated torture," he said.
[...]
Paramedics quickly got Chan to University Medical Center Brackenridge.
"The doctor said, 'We need to make an extremely serious decision,' " Chan said. "I said, 'I know. Take it off.' "
[Austin Statesman]
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