Motorcyclist describes witnessing his friend fly off a cliff: 'I thought he was dead'

The motorcyclist whose fall was captured on video survived with minor injuries.

ByABC News
March 30, 2017, 7:49 AM

— -- A California man who witnessed his friend and fellow motorcyclist veer off the side of a highway and fall down a cliff told "Good Morning America" in an interview that aired today about the near-death incident.

"I thought he was dead," David Park, who captured the entire incident on his GoPro, told ABC News. "I don't know what's down there, maybe it's a 50-foot drop, maybe there's rocks down there, I don't know what's down there."

Remarkably, Park's friend, who wished to only go by his first name, Willi, sustained only a shoulder injury in his fall and has since been released from the hospital.

Park told ABC News that they were motorcycling through the Angeles National Forest in Arcadia, California, on Sunday, when the near-death experience took place.

"You really have to think about it, and digest it, to really accept the fact that: How can a person walk away with a fractured shoulder from this?" Park said.

Park added that Willy's bike got caught in a tree as he fell down off the side of the road, but Willy kept falling. Park said they had no cell service, so he asked another motorcyclist to drive down the highway and call 911. The California Highway Patrol responded to the incident and Willy was airlifted to a medical treatment center, according to Park.

Park said that Willy "only remembers the point of impact and then waking up seeing my face."

Despite the fall, Park said Willy maintained that he is going to get back on his bike when he recovers.

"Willy's got a pretty strong spirit," Park said. "Once he heals up he said he's going to continue riding motorcycles, but I don't think he's going to be coming back up here anytime soon."