Scooter-Relief.org Aid and support for scooterists in need

In May, Terri Myers of Houston Texas was struck by a hit-and-run driver. Her scooter was totalled and she sustained numerous injuries, though thankfully no broken bones, and nothing life threatening. While she was taken to the hospital and treated there, she did not have to stay long, though as we all know, any visit to the hospital is costly.

Terri is associated with the Houston Scooter Battalion.

A new site was set up for Mike Formato (in Florida) who was struck by a car in April. You can make donations directly to the family at MikeFormato.info. From the updates on the website, it sounds like his condition is improving. Please check that site for the latest.

UPDATE: Astrid is out of the ICU, but still undergoing surgeries and treatment. All the support she has received from the scooter community has been tremendous (over $4000 raised so far). Her bills to continue to mount, and we've started a second chipin for her. Please consider donating if you can.

EPSP Gary Didier, aka Oldhighway7, passed away after having a heart attack in his soon to be opened scootershop, Capital City Scooters, in Columbus, OH. Gary organized an open membership riding group called the Easy Peasey Scooter Posse, now in it's third year, with 137 members nation wide.

He leaves behind his wife, Caitlin a son Chris and daughter Shannon. Gary's family and friends have requested donations to Scooter-Relief.org in lieu of flowers. All funds raised will benefit the family in their time of need.

Scooter-Relief is looking for a few good volunteers (just like us) who are interested in helping out. If you think you might be interested, drop us a line through the contact form. We are a pretty small all volunteer operation and are looking to take it to the next level for next year. If you think you are up for the challenge (think: rebuilding a vespa project from a box of parts, except with paperwork and emails and outreach to your local scooter community), we should talk!

UPDATE: Jed's club mates informed us that On October 30th, 2008, Jed succumbed to his injuries and passed on. We at Scooter-Relief, his club and family thank everyone for their support.

We got word from friends that Jed "Chickenheard" Minaya of the Three Mile Island S.C. in Pennsylvania was involved in a bad wreck in July and has been in a coma since. His condition has put serious strains on his family, and his clubmates are raising funds to help them.

This weekend we got word from clubmates of his that Detroit Rover Dan Hittenmark was injured in a hit and run accident in Grosse Point, MI on Friday.

Here's what we know:

Rover Dan was involved in a hit + run accident on Friday morning, Aug 1st. He was in the Grosse Point area riding home from a pre-rally event when a driver made a right turn off a side street and into his lane, hitting him and knocking him off his bike. The driver didn't stop... and a later passing car stopped when they found him in the road.

He was taken up to St. Johns hospital over on Moross, with 7 broken ribs, his arm broken in 3 places, the wrist of his other hand broken, broken clavicle, and broken pelvis. He's already undergone a surgery or two to install metal rods in his arm to aid healing.

In spite of all of this, he's in good spirits ... clubmates have been making trips over to see him at the hospital and he's one gigantic bruise from the neck down.

[Dan is self employed] making custom engraved pieces to sell on ebay, which he can't do if he's completely disabled.

Steve Sellers, mechanic at P-Town Scooters in Portland was admitted to the hospital late last week with heart trouble. We are still trying to get more details but those close to him have reached out to ask for support. Steve has no health insurance and his bills are sure to be considerable.

Update

We received the following update from friends of Steve's:

Our friend, Steve Sellers, went into the hospital on Saturday June 28, 2008 with congestive heart failure. While in the hospital he has suffered two strokes, one minor and one major. He was left paralyzed on his right side and unable to speak.
Although his situation is improving every day, his financial situation is only getting worse.

Please consider giving what you can.

We recently heard about Buzzbomb Kirk's accident and seriously broken leg and knee (link to scooter BBS post). You can read more about his injuries and recovery as well as make a donation through Kirk's Accident Blog. He has a long road to recovery ahead of him and would appreciate any help folks can offer.

Somehow the application forms got deleted from the system. I have just re-added them. if you need an application form, please download one now. Sorry for the inconvenience.