A Southend biker ‘died’ in a horror motorcycle crash but miraculously ‘came back to life’ after his family refused to let doctors switch off his life support.

Benjamin Bray, 38 and from Westcliff, suffered severe injuries when his motorcycle and a car collided in London Road on March 9.

The father-of-two’s brain “shut down” and he was put in a medically induced coma after he was airlifted to St George’s Hospital in Tooting.

Benjamin’s condition was so poor that his family was urged to tell doctors they could turn off the machine keeping him alive.

But their decision to give him more time ultimately saved his life, although they have been told he has brain damage.

His brother Matthew, 35 and from Leigh, said: “He died at the scene. They sent the air ambulance and they put tubes in his throat to help him breathe but his brain had shut down.

“He is now stable, breathing on his own and swallowing food. It is nice that he is here considering we were left with a decision to turn off his machine. He would have left us two weeks ago.

“Luckily we made the choice not to switch it off and he started to breathe again within a couple of days while he was still on the machine, but unfortunately he has got brain damage.”

The family has been told it will be six months before they will know what the extent of the brain injury. In the meantime he faces a grueling program of rehabilitation and physiotherapy.

Source: EssexLive