A 66-year-old man who was struck on his Harley Davidson by a vehicle that ran a red light in Sarasota is currently on his way to recovery. While he has surprised the doctors that did not initially believe he would survive the accident, he remains in the hospital and is still far from being completely healed.

The near-fatal, traumatic motorcycle accident occurred at about 10 p.m. on U.S. 301. The Bradenton Herald reports that man had left the Thunder by the Bay Motorcycle Festival on Jan. 6 with his friend when a Chevrolet van barreled through a red light and hit both motorcycles. It is unclear why the woman driving the van failed to stop at the red light, but it appears that her carelessness and reckless driving caused multiple serious injuries. In addition to the physical pain and suffering she has caused, the injured motorcyclist has accrued considerable medical debt, so much so that he has established a fund at a nearby bank for donations.

Since being admitted to the Blake Medical Center while unconscious from his severe injuries, he has gone through multiple surgeries and been given more than 20 units of blood before recently regaining consciousness. However, he is lacking pieces of his memory, and typically cannot understand the accident that has disabled him. More surgeries are also necessary for his recovery.

His wife of 18 years said she has to remind him who he is and why he is in a hospital.

She added she is in disbelief the accident happened since he has biked for years and has always been careful while doing so. Unfortunately, it does not appear that he was able to avoid this accident and that it was caused by one woman's poor driving.

Source: Bradenton Herald, "Motorcyclist facing long recovery," Laura C. Morel, Feb. 5, 2012