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A stomach-churning video has emerged of the moment a car crunched straight into a group of cyclists on a mountain road.
Ethan Fann and his three friends were descending Twist Road near Jamestown, California, when a van hurtled round a blind corner and smashed into the four bikes.
The first rider who was hit is lucky to be alive after his helmet 'disintegrated' from the impact, Mr Fann said.
All four riders miraculously escaped without life-threatening injuries and have made full recoveries since the smash in June 2015.
The clip has been viewed hundreds of thousands of times since it was posted online.
Mr Fann said he has learned the lesson about riding around bends where he cannot see far enough ahead of himself to be able to stop quickly in an emergency.
Social media users have argued viciously over who is to blame for the collision.
Ethan Fann and his three friends were descending Twist Road near Jamestown, California, when a van hurtled round a blind corner and smashed into the four bikes. The first rider who was hit is lucky to be alive after his helmet 'disintegrated' from the impact, Mr Fann said
All four riders miraculously escaped without life-threatening injuries and have made full recoveries since the smash in June 2015
Mr Fann said he has learned the lesson about riding around bends where he cannot see far enough ahead of himself to be able to stop quickly in an emergency
Peter Christis said: 'I am struggling to see how anyone could blame the cyclists for this accident.
'If, instead of bikes, there had been a car driving in the lane in the direction of the video, the oncoming car would have hit it head on and there would be a couple of little white crosses on the side of the road.'
But Jeff Westerskōv disagreed. He said: 'Bombing downhill around a blind corner and taking up the whole road with cars driving up isn't exactly the smartest thing to do.'
In his original YouTube post, Mr Fann said: 'The incident occurred near Jamestown, California on a training ride for the UC Merced Cycling Team. Pictured in the video is Twist Road, a popular climb/descent for cyclists because of the tight turns (Twist, get it?) found near the bottom.
Mr Fann said: Pictured in the video is Twist Road, a popular climb/descent for cyclist s because of the tight turns (Twist, get it?) found near the bottom'
He added: 'The twists that make it fun also cause blind corners and then it was just a matter of "wrong place wrong time". Fortunately the driver stopped and help us make the necessary calls to emergency services which were then able to get to us within a couple of minutes'
'Unfortunately, the twists that make it fun also cause blind corners and then it was just a matter of "wrong place wrong time".
'Fortunately for us the driver stopped and help us make the necessary calls to emergency services which were then able to get to us within a couple of minutes.
'The first rider hit endured the majority of the injuries and had to be air-lifted to a nearby hospital, but was miraculously limited to a concussion and leg/knee/hand fractures which he has then since fully recovered from.
The first rider hit suffered from concussion as well as a fractured leg, knee and hand
In the clip Mr Fann crashes into two of his friends, flies of his bike and rolls onto his back
'His Giro Air Attack helmet (I feel the need to specifically call out the helmet brand) is what saved his life. If you look closely you can actually see the helmet disintegrate when hitting the window of the van.
'The second miracle is how he landed on top of his brother which prevented his unprotected head from hitting the asphalt.'
Mr Fann added: 'The rider on the left sustained the second greatest degree of injuries, but was still limited to an ER visit and some stitches. Myself and the other rider only sustained bruising and moderate road rash.
'With the help of the video police were able to determine that the van w as at fault for being on our side of the road, but I still learned the lesson that I should be incredibly careful when outriding my line of sight.'
Source: Shocking body-cam footage shows four cyclists sent flying through the air after head-on collision with car
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