Canewdon motorcyclist jaw wired shut after Leigh crash

Callum Baldwin, 23, a renderer from Canewdon, was hurled 30 yards into a parked car after he was cut off and knocked over by a van while riding his Yamaha motorbike in Leigh in April 2022.

Travelling at 30mph at the time of the smash, the impact was so severe that Callum bit straight through his tongue and shattered several teeth, but he miraculously survived the crash – which was captured on CCTV.

Still recovering - Callum Baldwin (Image: Callum Baldwin / PA Real Life)

Callum was rushed to hospital where doctors were forced to wire his jaw shut to prevent his face from collapsing after scans revealed that he had fractured his cheek and chin.

One of his teeth came loose a few days after the crash but with his jaw wired shut Callum was unable to open his mouth so had no choice but to swallow it.

Two years later Callum says he still has to wear a balaclava when the temperature drops below freezing otherwise his face aches and he cannot enjoy fizzy drinks or foods like salt and vinegar crisps as they make his tongue burn where he bit through it.

Callum was awarded upwards of £100,000 after taking legal action against the van driver who cut him off and has said he will never buy a motorbike again.

“I saw the car coming towards me and I thought… I’m dead,” Callum told PA Real Life.

“I have never felt that bad in my life.

“My tooth came out while my jaw was (wired) shut but I had no choice but to swallow it – it was minging.

“I’m never riding a motorbike again.”

Routine trip - Callum's motorcycle (Image: Callum Baldwin / PA Real Life)

Asked whether he has a message for van drivers, Callum said “pay attention”.

Callum has always loved “anything with an engine” from cars to jet skis – and has been riding motorbikes since he was about 10 years old, before purchasing his 125cc Yamaha in September 2021.

But a routine trip to Leigh at around 7.35am on April 8 2022 to drop off some keys for work would change Callum’s life forever.

Without warning a van cut across Callum’s path and collided with him, sending him hurtling towards a parked car on the side of the road.

He struck the vehicle with such force and speed that it briefly lifted the car off the ground.

“There was nothing I could do, he just cut me up, crushing my knee and foot and then I was flying in the air,” he said.

“I can’t believe I survived. Someone ran over to me and asked if I was dead.

“I was in total shock.”

Callum knew the situation was really serious when he removed his helmet and blood with clotted lumps started pouring down his face.

“I tried to get up and walk but fell back down,” he said.

“I could feel myself bleeding in my helmet and my mouth and when I took it off there was a gush of blood, normal and clotted lumps so I knew something serious had happened.

“I was in so much pain.

“There were clotted chunks of blood coming out of my face.”

Shock - Callum in hospital after the crash (Image: Callum Baldwin / PA Real Life)

Callum was rushed to Southend Hospital before being transferred to Broomfield Hospital in Chelmsford.

Scans revealed Callum had suffered serious injuries to his fingers and knee, and broken his foot and multiple bones in his face.

Several of his teeth were also shattered in the crash and Callum’s cheek bone was fractured.

To prevent his face from collapsing completely, doctors were obliged to wire his jaw shut.

“My tongue just wouldn’t stop bleeding where I had bitten it so they had to stitch it up,” he said.

“They put a plate in my chin and used loads of elastic-type bands to keep it in place.”

For the next eight weeks, Callum could only eat blended ice creams, yogurts and water through gaps in his teeth.

“It was so hard not being able to eat. I couldn’t even use a straw. But mum was my rock.

“Now, I can’t eat any of those things because they remind me of what happened.”

Walking up stairs and moving around also proved difficult for Callum because of his damaged knee and foot.

It took him over three hours to eat chilli and rice after doctors removed the wire and he was finally able to move his jaw.

“It was so hard to eat. I couldn’t believe it,” he added.

“It was wired shut for that long that it took me a couple weeks to open my mouth again.

“I still can’t open it fully without feeling it.”

Callum took legal action against the van driver with Express Solicitors, who specialise in personal injury claims.

While he does not wish to reveal the exact amount, Callum received upwards of £100,000 with the help of his lawyer Rachel Flannigan.

She told PA Real Life: “Callum is a very lucky man.

“His injuries could easily have been fatal and have now left him with lifelong implications.

“This settlement can now help him secure his future.

“Drivers need to be ware of motorcyclists at all times.”