Greg Edwards was driving his motorcycle through an Aurora intersection, with a green light, when his world was suddenly turned upside down and shattered.

Edwards was hit broadside by the driver of a car who ran a solid red light, police said. Edwards didn’t see the collision coming.

“I felt something — Boom!,” he recalled Monday from his hospital bed. “I was airborne. Once I hit the ground, I was aware I had been hit. I was just trying to crawl out of the intersection.”

The crash happened April 30 at the intersection of South Chambers Road and East Iliff Avenue, police said. It was captured on video surveillance and Aurora police Monday released images of the crash.

Edwards received a fractured femur, fractured ankle, chipped teeth and a gash on his lip that required six stitches. He remains under treatment at the Medical Center of Aurora and is scheduled to undergo additional surgery tomorrow.

Aurora Police Chief Dan Oates said his department issues between 2,000 and 3,000 red-light tickets each month.

The image of Edwards being catapulted into the air and coming down head first should should serve as a lesson for drivers, Oates said.

“I think the video is very shocking to someone who sees it,” Oates said. “Hopefully over time we are changing behavior. It’s behavior that should not have occurred, and it should be sanctioned.”

Most of the red-light tickets Aurora police issue are for illegal right turns on red. That type of violation — turning right without coming to a full stop — has the potential to cause dangerous collisions, like the motorcycle crash, Oates said.

The driver of the car, Chante Thomas, 20, of Aurora, was ticketed. A traffic investigation into the crash is ongoing and Thomas faces possible multiple charges including running a red light and careless driving resulting in injury, police said.

Thomas drove through a solid red light, which had been red for at least nine seconds, according to a review of the surveillance footage. She could not be reached for comment Monday afternoon.

The intersection is one of 14 locations in Aurora monitored by a photo enforcement system, police said.

“This is a system that will make the city safer,” Oates said of video surveillance. “We see compelling video every month.”

Edwards was wearing a full-shield motorcycle helmet and a riding jacket with padding the day of the collision.

“It really paid off — the full shield helmet,” Edwards said. “When I got airborne, I hit face first.”

A motorcycle rider for five years, Edwards suggests that other motorcyclists wear protective gear, as well. He credits it with minimizing his injuries.

And as spring weather gives way to summer — prime motorcycle season — Edwards passed on a plea for all motor vehicle drivers:

“Try to be more aware of motorcycle riders.”

Kieran Nicholson: 303-954-1822 or knicholson@denverpost.com