06.20.2015 - I just wanted to say a big "thank you" to everyone who has donated as well as all those who have passed along their well wishes. Today I was able to hop back on the motorcycle for my first time since the accident and I'm looking forward to enjoying many more rides in the near future.

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On March 26, 2015, I was driving to work on my motorcycle. It was a fairly typical commute, full of cagers cutting me off, merging into me and generally just not paying close enough attention. As I was filtering up to the front of a light, I noticed one particular man in a black BMW convertible. He was very busy texting and talking away on his mobile phone. He became visibly angry when I told him to put down his cell phone while he was in his car. Even after he honked at me, much to my surprise, I kept my cool... I didn't flip him off or get into his face, however much I wanted to. Once the light turned green, I proceeded through the intersection, making my turn. Behind me, the BMW driver came flying up behind me very aggressively. After a couple of blocks, he pulled into the center lane to my left and, once he was parallel with me, swerved his car into my lane, knocking both my bike and myself to the ground. Without slowing, the driver took off down the road.

Aside from a significant amount of bumps and bruises, I suffered a severe concussion (bad enough for me to forget what day, month and year it was and knocking all memory of the past week out of my head), two hairline fractures in my left shoulder and a broken left foot (which would require surgery).

Because the driver is currently under criminal investigation, I will be unable to go after him or his insurance. for any sort of compensation for quite a while. Additionally, the insurance on the car (which was not owned by the driver) only has a very small amount of coverage for medical and property damage. All of this money has been swallowed up in one quick swoop by my significant amount of bills. I'm left still having to pay several thousand dollars for my health insurance's out of pocket maximum. Additionally, I'm left with several bills associated with purchasing medical equipment (crutches, shower seat, etc.) and transportation (car rental, Lyft rides). My credit cards are close to full-up and these bills will be coming due very soon.

Please take a moment to watch the video of the accident and browse through some of my photos. I would appreciate any help you could offer to ease the burden of my medical bills.

**FOR THOSE ACCUSING ME OF RUNNING A SCAM**

POLICE REPORT NUMBER (LAPD West Traffic Division): 15-07-07648

Yes... I record every single time I hop on my motorcycle. Any smart rider does. I've been hit several times before. I've had several experiences with hit-and-runs (where I couldn't identify the driver) as well as other drivers simply lying through their teeth. I use a camera on every ride to protect myself in incidents such as this.

Now... LANE SPLITTING (AND FILTERING TO THE FRONT OF A LIGHT) IS COMPLETELY LEGAL IN THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA AND A VERY STANDARD PRACTICE. While talking on your mobile phone, even at a red light, is very illegal. Yes, I probably could've been a bit more delicate in my interaction with the driver. But, who among us hasn't ever said something while angry before? And since when is having really thin skin and excuse for intentionally hitting someone with your car? After the left turn, I stayed in the left lane the entire time prior to the incident. As a motorcyclist, it's habit for me not to ride in the dead-center of the lane. I'm used to riding in either the right or the left portion of the lane to make myself more visible to any cars that I might be following. I was continuously checking my mirrors, because I had an aggressive driver tailgating me. I did not brake-check the driver at any point. (I'm not that stupid and have no desire to get rear-ended.) However, I did slow down as a reasonable tactic to get the driver to pass around me. He very obviously did... though not in the way I would've hoped.

Now, for all you legal-beagles who believe that you understand how insurance works. Yes, I am fully insured... with, at least what I consider to be, very good insurance. The owner of the vehicle has been identified, but was not the driver. The police have a suspect as to who was driving the vehicle. Because the suspected driver of the vehicle is currently under investigation (and lawyered-up), he has, as well all know from watching too many police shows, a right to remain silent and not incriminate himself. Therefore, I am unable to get any information about him or his insurance to file suits against either. Even when the trial is over... Unless this guy has a significant amount of money, I'm not likely to see any sort of reimbursement from winning my case.

Now, I'm currently in negotiations with the car owner's insurance. However, for those of you that aren't in the know... When your health insurance covers you in the case of an accident where someone else is at fault. They are able to put a lien on any court settlements to recoup their costs first. As the owner of the car is covered only by the California minimum... and my bills are SIGNIFICANTLY more than that... the settlement is completely swallowed up without me seeing a dime. I still have to pay up to my out-of-pocket maximum. Additionally, I'm not covered for the majority of time I had to rent a car or take Lyft because the amount allotted for property damage is almost entirely swallowed-up by the cost of my motorcycle repairs and gear reimbursement. There were also other smaller expenses such as a bench for my shower, a hands-free crutch (insurance only covered standard crutches which I couldn't use because of my fractured shoulder) and various other items.

I'm not an entitled guy. I originally created this page to pass around to my immediate friends and family to see if anyone in my close community would be willing to help me out. This is how community is supposed to work... coming together and supporting each other. A friend suggested that I pass the video around to a few of the motorcycle pages that I follow on Facebook... from there, it started to blow up. I honestly didn't expect to get more than $50. But, there's some incredible people out there in the motorcycle-riding community... as well as those fantastic people who don't ride, but just want to help a fellow human being. Yea... $5,000 may not seem like all that much to a lot of you. But, it will go a long way in chipping away at the huge block of debt that's going to be staring me in the face for the next few years.