�Ӱ��԰�

Rieanna 'Goodas Stunt' Wallace knows first-hand how quickly a joyful ride can turn into a nightmare. Though she admits that "bike nice," she is clear in her mind that persons risk paying the ultimate price if they are not careful on the roads.

At just 19, Wallace has spent the last six weeks confined to Sir John Golding Rehabilitation Centre in St Andrew, following a devastating crash that left her with a broken neck. The tragedy struck on February 20, when she and three friends were heading home from a party in Kingston.

"A bus just come out of nowhere in front of us and we couldn't stop, and all four of us ran into the bus and I lost consciousness for a little while. When I woke up, I was in the police vehicle and my friend, who eventually died, was beside me. I remember just calling out him name, and mi see him a gap fi life and then him just stop breathe, and him close him eye dem and mi pass out again. When mi wake up, a KPH mi deh," she recalls in chilling detail.

Wallace, a resident of Norman Gardens, east Kingston, is not your ordinary motorcycle driver. In October 2023, she was shot in the left leg, allegedly by a Jamaica Defence Force soldier while travelling with other bikers in the western end of the capital city. Her leg was amputated as a result of the injuries, but Wallace continued to perform gravity-defying stunts on motorcycles.

Reflecting on February's devastating crash, which has left her holed up in a rehabilitation facility, Wallace is thankful she was wearing a helmet.

"I was wearing my helmet on the night of my crash and that is what probably helped to save my life," she told THE WEEKEND STAR.

While at the Kingston Public Hospital, she laid on her back for more than a month with Halo-gravity traction on her head. Among other procedures, she underwent a steel traction head operation, which is a procedure that gradually stretches the spine in order to correct severe spinal injuries.

"Dat was very painful, and mi just did a pray to get better. Mi keep on a remember that mi friend died and mi have a lot of nightmares about it," Wallace said.

Although she loves riding, the future remains uncertain.

"I am learning to sit up now. It was hard a few weeks ago because I kept passing out, but the staff has been helping me, and I am advancing. My neck is healed, but I feel pain from the bedsores that I have in my head because I was laying down too long. They are trying to heal it for me now, but it is still painful," Wallace says.

Her grandmother, Ann-Marie Howell, has been by her side every step of the way, battling to raise the $300,000 needed for life-saving surgery and fearing the worst.

"The money was hard to find, but just wondering if mi granddaughter a go make it was harder. Memba, is her neck that broke, and mi just have to leave everything in God's hand and she pull through. Mi had to visit her two times a day and thank God, family members and good friends were there," she said.

Howell, in sounding a warning to motorcyclists, said the road is unforgiving, and reckless riding can shatter lives in an instant. According to the Island Traffic Authority, some 165 lives have been lost to road crashes as of June 4. Motorcyclists account for 45, or 27 per cent, of fatalities since the start of the year.

"Mi a beg unno, ride with caution please because the road dangerous," Howell pleads.

Wallace has a similar plea.

"Watch the road because it nuh normal at all; and always wear your helmet, because it save lives," she said.

Additionally, Wallace says safety goes beyond gears.

"Make sure the bike is in order and up to standard for the road as well, and just slow down and no bother with the careless riding," she cautioned.