Updated January 16th 2026

Hi my name is Chris Gooding and am looking to raise some funds to help my father out with emergency medical bills he has built up in Africa after being a victim in a hit and run accident.

On October 1st my Dad was travelling on the back of a motorbike cab when they were hit by a police vehicle resulting in major injuries to Steve and his driver. The driver lost his bike and luckily only got a broken leg. My father received the brunt of the collision resulting in major injuries. He has broken his leg in 5 places, above and below the knee, 4 broken ribs, broken jaw, missing teeth and other smaller injuries. The last thing he remembers was thinking of how perfect the day was and then woke up in a hospital in Accra two days later.

In Africa, when it comes to medical treatment, the patient is responsible for covering ALL costs before any work will be done. Everything from hospital masks and gloves for the surgical team to the titanium rods and wires used to rebuild his jaw and leg. Patients are also responsible for buying their own pain medication daily or they will not receive it, and Steve is dealing with some immense pain. Raising funds to receive the proper medical care has become a daily thing. Some funds have been raised to help cover some of the major issues and keeps a minimal amount of medication coming in but it is a long road to recovery that he is looking at so we are looking for some extra help for Steve and for his driver who now cannot support his own family.

As information came in from witnesses it was found out that the police who ran a light causing the accident had taken Steve's bag, and then left the scene leaving both driver and Steve unattended, thinking they were dead. It has now become a matter of witnesses providing statements to get the local police to take responsibility for their actions. So far we have received no help or funds from the ones who were at fault for the accident. So they are on their own at the moment for providing their own care.

Any funds raised will be internationally transferred to Africa to provide immediate care and medication to help Dad pull through this ordeal. Thank you for taking the time to read this and many thanks to anyone that is able to help in anyway.

UPDATE:

Thanks to everyone who has helped out Dad so far, either through this page or by other means. Steve has received the much needed surgery for his leg and is now healing at his home in Ghana. There is still a long way to go to get him back to normal.

Some of the challenges we are now facing are to get surgeries for the other injuries that he sustained. He has been living with a broken jaw, many broken teeth, and a broken collarbone, which wasn't even noticed in his initial injury assessment due to the massive trauma the lower half of his body sustained. In Africa, all medical supplies and treatments must be paid for up front before any work will be done on a patient. God bless the Canadian health programs but unfortunately they can't help him in his current situation.

The first donations have gone towards Dads titanium rods to fix his leg but more funds are needed to get Steve back to a normal condition. Future funds will be going towards much needed surgery for his jaw, collarbone, and teeth. Money will also be used to provide much needed medications and painkillers for before and after new surgeries. Also, funds will be used to help go towards the $71000 worth of accrued medical bills. And lastly, we are hoping that once these things are taken care of we can get our Dad home to Canada to complete his healing near family and friends where the medical system is more in his corner. This has been a very hard journey not only for Steve but also for his family in Canada.

We appreciated all the help, funds, prayers, and well wishes that everyone has sent our way.