Matts_12GS Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 Just a quick update... I got a call today from Craig. He is home and recovering nicely. He wanted to express his gratitude to everyone for signing the card to him after his get off. I would like to take a moment to express my gratitude to Barry in Marin too. It's a good thing you were there despite the crappy way his accident was to end a day. Link to comment
TEWKS Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 Just a quick update... I got a call today from Craig. He is home and recovering nicely. Pat Link to comment
tallman Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 Just a quick update... I got a call today from Craig. He is home and recovering nicely. Pat Not knowing this, please get well soon and update when you can. Best wishes. Link to comment
Calvin (no socks) Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 Thanks Matt...a large hematoma can't keep a good man down! Link to comment
SageRider Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 Thanks for the update, Matt. Glad Craig is recovering well! Link to comment
Kathy R Posted August 18, 2011 Share Posted August 18, 2011 Can someone tell us what is going on with who? Link to comment
Matts_12GS Posted August 18, 2011 Author Share Posted August 18, 2011 There is a store there on the property of the inn that sells stuff from the Diamondback, the new twisty road which happens to run right in front of the hotel. There is a gent that runs the store, his name is Craig (his last name escapes me, but I have his card someplace...). He rides an 1964 BMW R50 I think it is that he bought in Switzerland in 1973. He brought it back to the states and has ridden it a good bit. He was so excited that the bike group coming was BMWs that he was always nearby us during the UN. He wanted to ride with some of the group and went out with Barry and someone else. They were having some mechanical issues so he came back to the hotel. A while later, bike back and running he asked Barry if he wanted to go out one more time. They headed down the Diamondback and Craig either had a heart attack or a narcoleptic "episode" and locked up, blew a corner and hit a parked car before going over the embankment. He was airlifted to Johnson City, TN with some broken ribs, a cranial hematoma and some other injuries. Barry went down the hill to help him till authorities arrived. That's the Reader's Digest version of the story... Link to comment
barryNmarin Posted August 18, 2011 Share Posted August 18, 2011 Yep, that's it in a nutshell. Richard and I are still in Nova Scotia but head home tomorrow and have been w/o Internet for a couple of days. I've spoken w/ Craig and apparently he passed out right before he clipped the parked car and went into the bracken and down the embankment. He has had previous events where he briefly lost consciousness but wasn't on the bike. It was a very sobering thing to witness and Craig is a very lucky man to be alive after being launched from his bike after it hit a couple of trees. Somehow he rode the bike a good 35 yards unconscious and down a steep embankment through brush and vines. Kudos to the local EMS who responded to my 911 with in 20 minutes. I have photos but wouldn't want to post them w/o talking to Craig first. Richard and I should be home in about a week. Link to comment
Highway41 Posted August 18, 2011 Share Posted August 18, 2011 His name is Craig Whitfill and he also has a photo studio. His friend and co-worker Bill said he told him he woke up as he was going over the side into the kudzu and trees. I saw the front bumper tore off the blue car he clipped on the way over on my way out on 226A Thursday. Bill Link to comment
OoPEZoO Posted August 18, 2011 Share Posted August 18, 2011 We rode by the parked car he hit on Wednesday. He ripped about 1/3 of the front bumper cover off, and that was one hell of an embankment he went down. Could of / should of been a lot worse. Glad to hear he is recovering. Link to comment
ltljohn Posted August 18, 2011 Share Posted August 18, 2011 Glad to hear he is on the mend. Link to comment
Nice n Easy Rider Posted August 18, 2011 Share Posted August 18, 2011 His name is Craig Whitfill and he also has a photo studio. His friend and co-worker Bill said he told him he woke up as he was going over the side into the kudzu and trees. I saw the front bumper tore off the blue car he clipped on the way over on my way out on 226A Thursday. Bill Craig has had a very creative and productive career as a scientist, being involved in development of a new technique for immunizing chickens by immunizing the eggs before they hatch. A brief synopsis here: http://www.immunobio.com/immunobio-team-cwhitfill.php Link to comment
FLrider Posted August 18, 2011 Share Posted August 18, 2011 I was on the ride out with him and Barry. Craig, if you don't know, had this vintage bmw he'd had since he was in his 20's. He and his wife had been riding it while living in Switzerland. His wife had come over to our table during the ice cream social and during the conversation, had asked if we were headed out the next day and if they could join us. She was supposed to be on that ride and I'm not sure what happened but she didn't show. Talk about luck. We followed him up to Grandfather on the BRP and he was obviously a good rider. Glad to hear he is doing better. He and his wife are just great people. Link to comment
Fubar Posted August 19, 2011 Share Posted August 19, 2011 Thanks all for the updates on Craig. Glad to hear the good news. The initial info was all I got and it was sketchy and bad. I foresee a good deal of doctors visits in his immediate future. I assume the bike is fairly well damaged. Any idea if he is going to repair it? Probably a bit soon to know that, I guess. Link to comment
George Brown Posted August 19, 2011 Share Posted August 19, 2011 Thanks for the update Matt. Good to hear that he is on the mend! Link to comment
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