Death-defying Leeds businessman opens new venture a decade after horror smash

But three-times-revived Leeds businessman Gary Brennan is still counting his miracles.

It has been nearly a decade since his motorcycle collided with a car in Sherburn-in-Elmet, a horror crash that would change his life forever.

After more than 50 operations since first arriving on helipad at Leeds General 
Infirmary, where surgeons restarted his heart an astonishing three times, the dad-of-four 
is now getting back in the saddle.

Now registered disabled and unable to ride on his beloved two-wheeled motorcycles, he has this month opened a new outdoor electric vehicle arena in Leeds, which he hopes will become a haven for impaired riders.

“I wanted something where people can ride if they are disabled, like me.

“I can’t ride on two wheels any more.

“But I wanted to be able 
to bring people together who are disabled as well as able-bodied.”

The half-mile outdoor track, built on part of an old golf course in Tingley, gives visitors a chance to rocket around on futuristic-looking outdoor electric off-road track buggies, pictured, complete with safety harnesses.

“It’s absolutely exhilarating.

“All you need is one finger on one handle and one thumb on the other.”

Mr Brennan, who already owns a stake in a similar indoor-only vehicle arena in Glasgow, Scotland, embarked his latest venture with business partner Mick Rawson.

But after defying death three times following the crash in 2010, he has not forgotten how far he has come over the last decade.

“I was declared dead at the scene of the accident,” he said.

“The police had put a blanket over my head.

“But the paramedics found I was still breathing when they arrived.

“Then my heart stopped twice when I landed at the LGI.

“They said, ‘there’s no way he will survive’.”

He underwent a total of 52 operations, and was in a coma for five weeks while surgeons fought to rebuild his shattered frame.

The grandad-of-four spent three months recovering in the LGI after the accident and returned every week for further operations after eventually being released.

“Every day they said to my wife and kids that it could have been my last day,” he added.

Mr Brennan is now an 
ambassador for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance, which flew 
him to hospital in the crucial minutes following his 
accident.

He also helped establish the Day One charity in 2014, following his life-changing trauma, with Leeds consultant Professor Peter Giannoudis.

The charity supports patients and their families during their hospital stay, offers rehabilitation help and carries out research surrounding major trauma.

For more information about the Hypertrax Arena, in Thorpe Lane, Tingley, visit www.hypertrax-arenas.com