BRADLY’S RECOVERY AFTER BEING HIT BY DRUNK DRIVER

Join us in a story of resilience and hope as we rally around our Bradly, who survived a tragic car accident caused by a reckless drunk driver. In June 2023, Bradly's life changed in an instant when he was struck at a mind-numbing 102mph, causing his vehicle to flip four times. Miraculously, Bradly defied the odds and survived, but the road to recovery has been an arduous one. For 45 days, he battled for his life, connected to a ventilator and life support, deep in a coma within the ICU at Shands Hospital. Now, as Bradly faces the aftermath of this harrowing experience, we invite you to be part of his healing journey. Your support can make a profound difference as we stand together to help Bradly rebuild his life and move beyond the shadows of this tragic event. Together, let's turn the page toward a brighter future for our resilient friend.

I am starting this GoFundMe in an effort to help my dear friend recover from a very near death accident that has taken every stitch of his “normal” away from him. I first want to thank you for taking the time to read his story and for your understanding and consideration of this difficult situation. 

 Around 7am on June 6, 2023 Bradly was driving down a beautiful, narrow two lane road on his way to work, a similar trip many of us make every day and expect it to be just another normal day. Unfortunately for Bradly. this day would not be like every other. It would change the trajectory of his life in more ways than many of us could even imagine. 

 About halfway to work Bradly was hit by a drunk driver. The teenager driving the vehicle had been partying since the night before, drinking and smoking marijuana. He was driving approximately 104 MPH in a 40 MPH zone. Witnesses to the accident said the driver had passed several of them in non-passing areas of the road, traveling at a very high rate of speed. As the driver came around a curve he lost control of the vehicle, crossed over the double yellow line and hit Bradly’s car head on. This caused Bradly’s vehicle to flip 4 times, completely destroying the car and trapping Bradly inside of it. 

 Luckily for Bradly, there was a female witness to the accident that also happened to be a UF health Employee . She quickly rushed to him as she called 911. She stayed with Bradly as he lay unconscious with his leg stuck beneath the crushed metal of the vehicle, until police and paramedics arrived. 

 The paramedics believed Bradly was already dead as they cut him out of his vehicle. Once they got him free from the vehicle one of the paramedics miraculously found a heartbeat and they quickly airlifted him to UF Shands where he underwent two urgent surgeries to fix a collapsed lung and insert a breathing tube. Bradly was then placed in an induced coma so his body could start healing itself. Some of his injuries included, but were not limited to, a collapsed lung, several fractured ribs on the left side of his body, chipped teeth and severe internal injuries to the leg that was trapped in the vehicle. In addition to the serious injuries to his body 

Bradly was also diagnosed with a serious traumatic brain injury. About a month after the accident he was brought out of his induced coma. Once he was considered stable enough to transport, he was moved to an intensive rehab facility. He spent several more weeks relearning basic functions that we all take for granted every day, such as walking and talking, before he could be released and sent home. 

 Due to the traumatic brain injury Bradly continues to have deficits with cognitive functioning, balance, dizziness and nausea. He also suffers from understandable psychological difficulties like anxiety, depression and PTSD. He remains restricted from work and is being followed closely by physicians at UF Health. Repeat imaging of brain and cervical spine are scheduled in October and EEG is scheduled in November to assess neurological functioning and his progress. 

 Now that we have told you Bradly’s story, I will get to the part where we will be asking for your help. We all see the big name attorneys claiming big earnings from suing people in similar situations as Bradly’s, but not every case is the same. Big name attorneys typically are able to get large settlements not from the individual but from their insurance companies. In Bradly’s case, the teenage driver of the vehicle had very limited insurance so there is no one and no insurance company even the best attorney can sue against. He is currently looking at around $400,000 in debt. Because of his time spent in the hospital and the many procedures and surgeries he had to have. He has missed work since June 6th and has lost wages and also hasn’t been able to pay any bills . At the most and this is still a big maybe, he may receive around $10,000 from the teenage drivers insurance company which will not even put a dent in what he now owes. Also the fire department has a lien for $12,000 because of cutting him out of his car. So the $10,000 will automatically be gone before it gets here. We can all see from this story that this was in no way Bradly’s fault. It was a situation he had NO control over. He still can not work, he no longer has a vehicle and can not afford to replace the one he had. This go fund me will help him get another vehicle and replace the things that he has lost because of the drunk driver with bad insurance. 

 Once again I would like to thank you for reading Bradly’s story thus far. If you can help in any way we would greatly appreciate it, even the smallest amount will make a big difference at this point. If you cannot help Bradly out financially, please share this post so we can reach others who can!

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