Valley groups hope to educate motorcycle riders on safety

Dave Hochstadt remembers the moment life as he knew it changed, when a motorcycle ride with his best friend turned deadly in a matter of seconds.

"His bike caught on fire... everything kinda got hazy," Hochstadt said. "It was a case of I believe misjudgment."

Not only did Dave lose his friend, he also lost a piece of himself -- his left leg.

"Toughest thing is usually the morning times," he said.

In 2016, out of 3,100 motorcycle crashes, 145 resulted in fatalities, but a large portion of the rest live every day with their injuries and some are recovering at Health South.

Here, Dave has worked for months and after dozens of hours of physical therapy, he's reached his goal of riding once again.

"Sometimes you get what I call dark days... just gotta get up and do it," he said.

Chandler Fire Health and Medical, as well as the Arizona Motorcycle Safety and Awareness Foundation, are also doing their part around the Valley to educate riders about staying safe.

Dr. Michael Kravetz says further education and awareness is critical, especially when many who have survived a crash want to get back on the road.

"People who are passionate about riding motorcycles ride again and do it safely," he said.