Help Kris our cycling mate

Kris is my friend. Do you remember him? He was a semi-regular Darwin Lucky Bat cyclist, when he wasn’t working in his FIFO job in Tanzania. He had a tuxedo cycling jersey which was a great conversation starter. And some memorable Japanese and satirical jerseys too.

Kris got knocked off his bike early one morning on the way to the social ride. The roads are usually quiet at 5:30am as we make our way to the café start point in Nightcliff. But on Friday 3rd November 2023, an out-of-control driver hit Kris from behind in a hit and run. Unlicensed, and (almost certainly) drunk in an unroadworthy and unregistered 4WD.

It was a terrible accident. Kris was run over, and his bike destroyed. Kris was nearly destroyed too.

He was airlifted to Adelaide with fractured pelvis (front and back), at least 12 broken ribs, skin abrasions all over with at least 6 spots needing skin grafts. The big problem is his fractured L2 vertebrae that’s caused an incomplete spinal cord injury.

Kris has been in hospitals ever since. He has transferred his treatment from Adelaide to Brisbane and was able to leave hospital for some temporary accommodation in June.

“I’m walking short distances with crutches and ‘walkers’ but getting about mostly by wheelchair now. It could be another year before I know what my abilities will be, and it always feels like I’m only 1% of the way through this. Apparently, I was conscious and verbally communicating with the paramedics when they were scraping me off of the road but I have no memory of the incident and lost the memory of the few days prior.

Coincidentally, I was wearing the tuxedo jersey when I was run over. I haven’t seen what’s left of it yet and I don’t know if I can. My ‘crash test dummy’ certainly would have been more suitable for the occasion.”

Kris has not been able to work since.

His Australian super wouldn’t provide any cover but a policy from work paid a proportion of his wages for 26 weeks. Legal advice has confirmed that there’s practically no noticeable compensation for road accident victims in the NT. It’s just not in the NT legislation. He is permanently crippled and will be lucky to get $20,000.

He needs our help. Can you support this fundraiser and donate $25, $50 or even $100 to assist with his new life, and the demands that come with it?

It’s scary to realise, but this is a random incident, and it could have been any one of us. Please see if your family and friends can help too.

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