Terrifying moment motocross rider dodged death after horror crash saw her helmet ‘filled with blood’

A Queensland motocross star says she is “lucky to be alive” after a horrific crash left her helmet covered in blood.

Motocross is in the spotlight after Gold Coast icon Jayden Archer died in a training accident near Geelong this month, and the sport has been left in mourning following his tragic death.

And now teen sensation Taylah McCutcheon says she is “enjoying each day as it comes” after escaping death following a freak fall.

McCutcheon, from Logan, suffered serious facial injuries after a crash on a Melbourne track on Saturday morning.

The 19-year-old lost control of the handlebars after a jump and was unable to brake in time for her next turn. As a result, she was sent flying into a ravine. She broke almost every bone in her face.

WARNING – GRAPHIC CONTENT

McCutcheon, a former Australian junior champion, was testing a new suspension with her Empire Kawasaki team and managed to climb up an embankment to raise the alarm, as no one had seen the accident.

She was rushed to the Royal Melbourne Hospital, where she underwent emergency surgery. Her mother rushed from Queensland to support her and she will meet surgeons in the coming days to discuss future operations.

McCutcheon says she remembers little of the incident and is disappointed to miss the first round of the national championship. However, she is grateful to be alive after the shocking accident.

“I’m lucky to still be here,” he said. Gold Coast Newsletter.

‘I couldn’t brake in time, so I went over the berm (banked turn) and flew into a ravine and landed on my face.

‘My helmet was full of blood, my sinuses were destroyed, both of my eye sockets were broken, my left cheekbone, the left side of my jaw, my maxilla.

“It was pretty gnarly.”

McCutcheon admits the accident has served as a stark reminder of the dangers of his sport, and Archer’s death at just 28 years old is still fresh in everyone’s minds.

“This has really hit close to home,” he said.

“I didn’t know Jayo well, but he was such an important figure in the sport and still had so much competition and so much life ahead of him, so it was a complete shock to hear that he had died.

“And now, talking to the doctors about how close I came to not still being here, it’s pretty scary.

“The helmet saved my life.”

In a statement posted to Instagram, McCutcheon said: ‘GIt’s lucky to still be here.

“We have yet to find out what cut my face as it is still unknown, this is all the information we were able to gather from what we know as I don’t remember anything and no one saw much of it.”

‘But thanks once again to everyone who messaged me or called me. Especially to all the people who helped me during my incident, I thank you all more than anything!!

“There was definitely someone on my side that day and I’m lucky to be here. Enjoy each day as it comes.’