For the last 15 years, Maxwell Houser has continued to deepen his love for motorcycle riding through the new sights he’s seen, new faces he’s met and new stories he can now tell, such as proposing to his girlfriend Olivia, now his fiancée, on the seat of his bike.

But after nearly losing his life in a motorcycle crash on I-95 on Monday, Houser may hang up his helmet.

“It’s very disheartening,” Houser said, “I’m trying not to cry about it, but all I want to do is just cry.”

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Action News Jax learned that Houser crashed on I-95 at Philips Highway, near the Avenues Mall, at around 12:30 Monday afternoon. He said patrol cars with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office were blocking traffic on the right side of the interstate, and as he was making his way around them, a truck pulled in front of him, and he ran into the back of it.

Houser said he was thrown off his bike, landed on his head, and lost a dangerous amount of blood in the crash.

“I landed on the helmet, which was forced into my collarbone. That literally saved my life,” said Houser, “but I was in constant, excruciating pain; I could never even relax my leg two days ago.”

Houser told us it may take up to three weeks for the swelling in his leg to go down before undergoing more surgeries. Houser has spent the last three years of his life training his body for fitness competitions, but, because of the damage to his body, he’s not sure if he’ll ever be able to compete again.

“The surgeon told me that the last few seconds riding that bike before I hit the car was the last time my legs were going to be like that again,” Houser said, “I’ve been really, really putting a lot into this to try to get something out of my life for once. And it just sucks. It feels like now I don’t have that, y’know?”

Houser’s crash happened as the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles reported 42 deadly crashes in Duval County in 2025. It’s the highest number of deadly crashes reported in a single year since, at least, 2017, even though fewer overall crashes have been reported over the span of that time.

Houser hopes drivers pay more attention to their surroundings, particularly to the riders on the roads. He believes everyone on the road deserves to be safe and protected, regardless of how they choose to travel.

“We all pay for the roadways, we all pay taxes, and we all deserve to travel where we’re going in a safe and efficient manner,” said Houser.

If you’d like to support Houser during his recovery, you can do so by clicking here.

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