One Orange County family will never be the same after a mountain bike accident the night of Super Bowl 2017 left their primary breadwinner unable to speak or move his limbs.
After the New England Patriots pulled off an overtime win against the Falcons, the husband and father of five decided to blow off a little steam on a nighttime bike ride. His life was irrevocably altered when a motorist who may have been intoxicated mowed him down and fled the accident scene.
Two passers-by discovered the critically injured man, who was then taken by first responders to Orange County’s Mission Hospital.
There, the man was rushed to surgery where doctors removed part of his skull to relieve pressure on his dangerously-swollen brain. In addition, he suffered devastating injuries to the left side of the body.
A year later, the former avid surfer remains unable to speak and can only communicate by making guttural noises. He receives sustenance through a tube and is confined to a wheelchair.
Doctors say that function and feeling in his limbs remain, but traumatic brain injuries from the bicycle accident render him unable to move them unaided.
On the morning of the 2018 Super Bowl, authorities made an arrest in the year-old hit-and-run case. A 53-year-old Laguna Niguel resident was taken into custody and charged with driving under the influence (DUI) and felony hit-and-run. He was booked into the Orange County Jail. Bail was set at $50,000. The suspect was released on bond.
This case illustrates the importance of perseverance in prosecuting hit-and-run cases. When at-fault drivers flee bike accident scenes, it can make it difficult, but not impossible, for victims and survivors to take legal action and recover damages for the catastrophic injuries and deaths that result from their irresponsible actions.
Source: MSN.com, “California Dad of 5 Left Immobile by Drunk Driver Begins Recovery: ‘I Know He’s Fully in There’,” Jason Duaine Hahn, March 08, 2018
