Help Joe Heal
Don protégé
“I had one arm over the hood and the other holding on to my bike. After the driver hit me, I remember trying to stand up and screaming for someone to help me but then I don’t remember anything else,” says Joe Manzanares.
On September 27, 2019 Manzanares was riding his bike home from work around 9 o’clock p.m. when he was run down by a person driving a black SUV as he tried to cross one of the entrances to the Lionstone Apartments near Murray Boulevard and Bijou Street.
“I’m all for stopping for things that are bigger than me,” says Manzanares. The SUV initially backed up seeming as if to make room so that he could ride by, but as he peddled passed, the driver accelerated and hit Manzanares. The driver fled the scene.
As a result from the incident he suffers extensive injuries: all of his ribs are broken and have punctured his lungs resulting in collapsed lungs, his hip and collarbone are both broken, he has had various infections, and the frontal cortex of his brain is bruised. “I’m still kicking. I can’t kick hard but I’m still kicking,” says Manzanares.
Manzanares knows the recovery is going to be difficult but it is not the first time he has faced adversity. Manzanares left Colorado Springs 12 years ago and became homeless after his mother died. He says there was nothing left for him so he went on a journey west. “I never got into any trouble but I was trying to drink myself to death,” says Manzanares. Recognizing he had a problem, he sought help through a rehabilitation facility in South Fork, Colorado.
His journey then lead him to Durango, Colorado where he struggled to find work and eventually spent the last of his money on a one way ticket to Seattle, there he lived in the city sanctioned tent communities for several years. After some time away, Manzanares felt it was time to come back to Colorado to visit his mother’s memorial.
“Since moving back here, this is the first time I don’t feel guilty or worried about where I’m going to sleep or what I’m going to eat. I have the worst luck. We all have a life to live and we all work hard,” says Manzanares as he reflects on his past hardships.
He had just recently found his footing with a job at Pikes Peak Test Labs, Inc. and signed his first apartment lease. “No matter how difficult or annoying a task may be, Joe owns it and finishes it. He doesn’t make excuses and gets the work done in the right way,” says Tim McConnell, Manzanres’ supervisor. The staff at Pikes Peak Test Labs, Inc. say they miss Manzanares and hope his recovery is quick. “I got blessed with a decent job and I just want to get back to work,” says Manzanares.
Mazanzares’ experience, however, is not uncommon. According to the article “Pedestrian Deaths Reach Highest Level In Decades, Report Says” published by NPR, pedestrian fatalities and crashes are steadily on the rise. The article states, “a new report by the GHSA [Governors Highway Safety Association] determined about 6,227 pedestrians were killed in motor vehicle crashes in 2018 — a 4 percent increase over 2017 and the highest mortality rate since 1990.”
According to the article there are several factors contributing to the increase in pedestrian crashes. Similar to Manzanares’ story, most incidents occur at night and are increasing much faster than crashes that happen during daylight. Manzanares’ hopes that his experience sheds light on this problem and wishes people would take more responsibility.
Through his struggles, Manzanares remains hopeful that the person who carelessly hit him will come forward. “I hope you find it in yourself to do the right thing. If you have a conscience, turn yourself in, before you do this to someone else,” says Manzanares.
On September 27, 2019 Manzanares was riding his bike home from work around 9 o’clock p.m. when he was run down by a person driving a black SUV as he tried to cross one of the entrances to the Lionstone Apartments near Murray Boulevard and Bijou Street.
“I’m all for stopping for things that are bigger than me,” says Manzanares. The SUV initially backed up seeming as if to make room so that he could ride by, but as he peddled passed, the driver accelerated and hit Manzanares. The driver fled the scene.
As a result from the incident he suffers extensive injuries: all of his ribs are broken and have punctured his lungs resulting in collapsed lungs, his hip and collarbone are both broken, he has had various infections, and the frontal cortex of his brain is bruised. “I’m still kicking. I can’t kick hard but I’m still kicking,” says Manzanares.
Manzanares knows the recovery is going to be difficult but it is not the first time he has faced adversity. Manzanares left Colorado Springs 12 years ago and became homeless after his mother died. He says there was nothing left for him so he went on a journey west. “I never got into any trouble but I was trying to drink myself to death,” says Manzanares. Recognizing he had a problem, he sought help through a rehabilitation facility in South Fork, Colorado.
His journey then lead him to Durango, Colorado where he struggled to find work and eventually spent the last of his money on a one way ticket to Seattle, there he lived in the city sanctioned tent communities for several years. After some time away, Manzanares felt it was time to come back to Colorado to visit his mother’s memorial.
“Since moving back here, this is the first time I don’t feel guilty or worried about where I’m going to sleep or what I’m going to eat. I have the worst luck. We all have a life to live and we all work hard,” says Manzanares as he reflects on his past hardships.
He had just recently found his footing with a job at Pikes Peak Test Labs, Inc. and signed his first apartment lease. “No matter how difficult or annoying a task may be, Joe owns it and finishes it. He doesn’t make excuses and gets the work done in the right way,” says Tim McConnell, Manzanres’ supervisor. The staff at Pikes Peak Test Labs, Inc. say they miss Manzanares and hope his recovery is quick. “I got blessed with a decent job and I just want to get back to work,” says Manzanares.
Mazanzares’ experience, however, is not uncommon. According to the article “Pedestrian Deaths Reach Highest Level In Decades, Report Says” published by NPR, pedestrian fatalities and crashes are steadily on the rise. The article states, “a new report by the GHSA [Governors Highway Safety Association] determined about 6,227 pedestrians were killed in motor vehicle crashes in 2018 — a 4 percent increase over 2017 and the highest mortality rate since 1990.”
According to the article there are several factors contributing to the increase in pedestrian crashes. Similar to Manzanares’ story, most incidents occur at night and are increasing much faster than crashes that happen during daylight. Manzanares’ hopes that his experience sheds light on this problem and wishes people would take more responsibility.
Through his struggles, Manzanares remains hopeful that the person who carelessly hit him will come forward. “I hope you find it in yourself to do the right thing. If you have a conscience, turn yourself in, before you do this to someone else,” says Manzanares.
Organisateur
Tim McConnell
Organisateur
Colorado Springs, CO
