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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Below is a copy of the police report 

On 06/06/2023 at approximately 0726 hours, I responded to CR 232 & NW 69th Drive about a traffic crash investigation. Upon arrival, I observed two heavily damaged vehicles off the roadway. A deputy with the Alachua County Sheriff's Office  noted a driver, C____Rafter appeared to have been intoxicated. This Deputy noticed the signs of impairment while he was obtaining the driver's basic information inside an ambulance. I was approached by several witnesses to the crash that advised a similar story. I was advised by witnesses P____O_____and A_____ B____that they witnessed the Mustang driven by Rafter driving recklessly before the crash. Both witnesses stated they observed the Mustang passing vehicles over the double yellow line and traveling what they believed to be over 100 MPH traveling eastbound on CR 232. The witnesses stated Rafter passed over the double yellow line again as he crashed head-on into the westbound vehicle. A witness identified as W_____C_____ stated he heard the crash from inside his nearby home. W______stated he ran towards the first vehicle and noticed the driver, Rafter, slumped over the driver's seat. W______ stated he also observed the passenger, later identified as __________ moving around in the front passenger's seat. W_____ advised as he was checking on the other vehicle, he observed the passenger leave the vehicle with a box of beer and attempt to hide the beer behind a nearby tree. While on the scene, Deputies located an opened box of Twisted Teas with four unopened, cold-to-the-touch, cans lying on the ground. During an inventory of rafters vehicle, I located several items associated with smoking marijuana. These items included a glass pipe with marijuana residue, a silver-in-color dry-herb grinder with marijuana residue, and rolling papers. All items were in the center console. Troopers responded to UF Health SHANDS Trauma Bay about contacting the occupants. Per the Troopers she was unable to contact the victim, as well as Rafter, due to them going into surgery for multiple critical injuries they suffered in the crash. Troopers added that per Shands Staff it appeared Rafter was intoxicated via alcohol. Troopers stated they was able to contact passenger  who post Miranda noted Rafter and himself had been drinking alcohol the night before and that morning. Troopers noted the passenger advised the drug paraphilia in the center console was Rafter's but they had both smoked marijuana before the crash while drinking alcohol. I responded to UF Health Shands around 6 hours after the crash about contacting the occupants. Upon arrival, I was advised per Shand's staff I was unable to speak with Rafter due to him being in surgery. I attempted to contact brad but upon arrival to his room,brad was still unconscious and hooked to a breathing machine and a chest tube and feeding tube . Due to it appearing, that Rafter was under the influence of alcohol during the traffic crash. I completed a search warrant to obtain Rafter's blood samples from Shand's as well as a search warrant for Rafter's totaled-out vehicle that was towed to Billy's Towing in Gainesville, Florida. Troopers conducted the search warrant for Rafter's vehicle. The troopers advised that he conducted an Electronic Data Recorder download from Rafter's vehicle. The troopers  advised he learned Rafter was traveling 102 MPH in a 40 MPH zone at the time of the crash.