Allen Taylor, founder of a pro-law enforcement group called Taylor’s Organization, will be released from Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston on Tuesday, just two days after surviving a hit-and-run accident that knocked him off his motorcycle in the middle of seven lanes of traffic on the 10000 block of Katy Freeway (I-10).
On Sunday afternoon around 2 p.m., Taylor and three others from Taylor’s Organization, a Montgomery County-based group, were on their way home from the funeral service for Harris County Precinct 5 Constable Deputy Mark Brown, who died from COVID-19, when Taylor’s motorcycle was struck. The group of four had participated in Brown’s funeral with the Wild Woods Chapter of Thin Blue Line.
Taylor says he remembers seeing black cars to his left and right when a white sedan pulled into his path. For a moment, Taylor said he and the female driver locked eyes in her rear-view mirror but couldn’t avoid the collision.
“I locked up my brakes and the bike went down,” he said. Allen was thrown through the air, landing a short distance away on the pavement as oncoming traffic swerved to avoid hitting him.
“It felt like it was in slow motion. I thought I was going to die. It was a miracle that I didn’t get hit by a car. I saw my life flash before my eyes. I won’t forget seeing the tires of vehicles as they rolled past me or hearing their brakes,” he said.
Knowing that he was more at risk lying in the road than on the shoulder, Taylor managed to pull himself up, walk the 30 feet to the edge of the freeway before collapsing in pain. His helmet was crushed, taking the brunt of the impact as he landed on his head and shoulder.
Taylor suffered five broken ribs, a punctured lung and road rash all over his body, but he survived.
“It was a miracle. God was definitely with me,” he said. “I shouldn’t have lived to talk about it.”
The accident came after a few close calls on I-10 on the way to the funeral. Taylor said that organization members were attempting to get to the west entrance to Beltway 8 for their trip back home to Porter.
“We had a couple of scares with people getting too close to the bikes on the way to the funeral,” said Jeremiah Johnson, president of the Humble chapter of Taylor’s Organization. “People just don’t watch for bikers like they should.”
Taylor said drivers distracted by their phones are a real threat on highways, particularly to motorcycles, which often go unnoticed. He claims the drivers who nearly hit him en route to the funeral were looking down at their phones at the time.
“Stay off the dang phone. We can’t swerve like other vehicles. It doesn’t work like that. We are supposed to be the Land of the Free but we can’t ride our bikes because other drivers aren’t showing respect for us,” he said. “I know they aren’t trying to hit us on purpose but just stay off the phone.”
The driver who struck Taylor reportedly fled the scene immediately after the crash. Christine Wilson, who works for Houston Police Department and had just left the funeral, is credited with following the driver and alerting police. The female driver was arrested and returned to the accident scene where Taylor and the others positively identified her, according to Taylor and Johnson.
Taylor said he has been moved to tears seeing messages of love and support from the community.
“A lot of people sent me messages or posted on Facebook to say they are offering prayers for me and my family. It means a lot. It brought tears to my eyes knowing people cared about what happened to me,” he said.
While his recovery will take several weeks, Taylor is itching to get back to work.
“I have too much going on and too much to do. I am still moving and I gotta keep rolling,” he said.