St. George biker improving after being shot while riding

St. George biker improving after being shot while riding


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CEDAR CITY, Utah (AP) - A 21-year-old motorcyclist who says he was shot twice by another biker during a police chase earlier this month in Utah can now eat on his own and is expected to leave a hospital this week.

Austin Sharp of St. George said he received an outpouring of sympathy after the shooting, with friends and strangers organizing fundraisers on his behalf and cheering on his recovery.

"I've had so much support. . I don't even know some of these people," Sharp told The Spectrum Wednesday. "This has kind of been an eye-opener (about) life for me."

Sharp, a construction worker and volunteer with the Santa Clara Fire Department, was in the wrong place at the wrong time on Aug. 15, when police were chasing James Alan Reynolds in Cedar City. Authorities said Reynolds, 55, fled after police tried to make a traffic stop.

Sharp recalled seeing police lights and watching Reynolds pull out a .22-caliber rifle just before shooting him.

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"That's when I went like, 'oh, (expletive)!' I mean, what else goes through your mind when something like that happens?" Sharp said. "It was an eerie feeling. That was a feeling I'll never forget."

The reason for the shooting was unclear. Sharp, who did not know Reynolds, said the suspect put the gun on the front wind screen of his bike to steady it before he shot.

Sharp was struck by two rounds and crashed on the side of the road. He said it felt like an eternity before a woman stopped, identified herself as a nurse and tried to help.

"I was laying there thinking, I can't feel my legs, I can't feel my toes," he told The Spectrum. "But I thought, I've got one more breath, one more breath. . If I can make it to the hospital, I'll be OK."

He was taken to Dixie Regional Medical Center, where a surgeon repaired damage to his large intestine, small intestine, colon, stomach and liver, he said. He's lost some feeling in his legs but is able to walk, and is now off a feeding tube he used for 13 days.


I was laying there thinking, 'I can't feel my legs, I can't feel my toes.' But I thought, 'I've got one more breath.'

–Austin Sharp


He said he hopes to start a nonprofit to help others in the way he's been helped.

Reynolds, who eventually crashed his bike into a car and injured himself and two people in the vehicle, was arrested and faces charges including attempted homicide.

His lawyer, Jack Burns, has requested a competency evaluation for his client. Burns did not immediately return a message from The Associated Press seeking comment on Thursday.

Reynolds is being held in the Iron County Jail on $500,000 bail.

(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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