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Injured motorcyclist thankful to be alive

Feels prayers, finds renewed faith in people

Sharon McBrayer | The News Herald

Jamie Freeman, of Morganton, talks about surviving a motorcycle wreck on Saturday

By Sharon McBrayer | The News Herald

Published: August 26, 2008

Morganton - Jamie Freeman escaped a motorcycle wreck on Saturday with some road rash to his arms and legs but no broken bones or head injuries.
And he owes his survival to a group of teenagers and the big man upstairs, Freeman said.
Freeman, 21, from Morganton, was riding past North Carolina School for the Deaf on Saturday when he decided to ride a wheelie in front of people gathered on the football field at the school. He said his father is deaf so he's familiar with the school. He admits he was being young and stupid and wanted to show them what he could do.
A large group of Pioneer Football League players and their families were on the field for the first-of-the-season "blitz" games. The league is made up of boys who are home-schooled or attend schools that do not have a sports program, said Shannon Friedmann of Lincolnton, a mother of a player.
Soon after Freeman's bike started flipping end over end, coaches ran to his aid, while a group of 160 teenage boys knelt in prayer.
It was those prayers, Freeman believes, that saved his life and answered his own prayers.
Freeman had wanted a motorcycle for two years but had never ridden one until he finally bought one four months ago.
About two weeks ago, however, he decided he wanted to sell his motorcycle in December and go to college. He said he had been praying about the decision for a while.
"God reached down from the heavens and smacked me in the face and gave me what I was asking for," Freeman said.
The last thing he remembers before wrecking is being up in the air with his feet touching the ground and then he was unconscious. He awoke to find five people huddled over him and holding his hands.
Those were the coaches of the football teams who jumped the fence at the school and stopped traffic, Friedmann said on Sunday.
Freeman's motorcycle is pretty much destroyed but he still has his life, for which he is thankful.
Freeman didn't know the group was praying for him until he read about it in the paper.
"I wanted to publically come out and thank them for their support," Freeman said. "It's just amazing that 160 teen-agers were praying for me."
Freeman's friend, Adam Hickman, has been keeping him company while he recuperates from his injuries. His father and grandfather are helping tend to his wounds, along with Hickman.
"It gives you a new-found faith in people," Hickman said. "It just goes to show that someone out there still cares."
Freeman has learned from his mistake and says he now will be able to become someone's husband and someone's father, hopefully.
"You have a whole new respect for life and outlook when you should be dead," Freeman said.
And while he's learned from his mistake, he hopes others will, too.
Freeman said people his age see a motorcycle as a toy and something fun that brings attention but not everyone needs one.
Police charged Freeman with careless and reckless driving to endanger.