Thought of This Today

Today as I drove to work at the Weston Inn, I had to stop at the light at 600 West and HWY 89-91. This is the where Logan River Academy and Zollengers Cold Storage are located. If you don’t know or forgot why this location is significant to me let me refresh your memory or tell you why it’s significant.

May 12, 2007

I was in Salt Lake with some friends walking around Temple Square and enjoying the day. Driving home at about the Lagoon/ Farmington exit I received a phone call from Kent (Bankhead, my dad’s bf).

Me: Hello?

Kent: Hey KaeLani, this is Kent do you know where your dad is?

Me: No, I’d guess he is at home, is he not there?

Kent: Don’t you know?

Me: Know what?

Kent: Your dad has been in a motorcycle accident.

Me: WHAT?!

Kent: Call your mom, and she can tell you.

I called my mom just after that, and she told me that my dad and Dayna had been in a very bad accident and that they were both in the hospital. I was silent, as the tears welled up in my eyes I could’t believe it. I thought that my dad wasn’t going to make it. That was the longest drive of my life from Farmington to my house in Wellsville.

When I got home I tried to call my grandma Sharon so that I could find out what happened and so that I could find out if I could see my dad. I finally got a hold of my grandma and she told me that my dad had been in an accident that was very serious. I asked her how serious and she told me that my dad had a concussion, broken his nose, and had had his four front teeth pushed up into his gums. His teeth had been pushed up so far as to the point it looked like he lost them altogether. Grandma told me that Dayna had the worst of the injuries. Dayna had lacerated her spleen, broken most of the ribs on her left side, broken her wrist, and punctured her lungs; she also had a small stroke. Dayna spent nearly a month in ICU and Respiratory ICU, battling for her life. Dad has to have many surgeries in order to help with the damage caused to his jaw and nose due to the accident.

The driver of the car that hit my dad and Dayna was an older woman, who didn’t look out her window and didn’t see my dad on his motorcycle. Dad was driving at 55 mph at the point of impact. Dad hit the back end of the car and flew over her trunk to the other side of the intersection. Dayna bailed at the last minute in order to save her own life. When dad came to he looked around trying to find Dayna, when he did he ran to her side at the side of the road where Zollenger’s is located. When dad got to her she wasn’t breathing and he couldn’t find a pulse, my dad was devastated. As the emergency crew arrived on scene, the medical people where able to find a pulse and bring her back.

When I finally got to see my dad after LRH life lighted Dayna to LDS Medical Center in Salt Lake, the image I got was terrifying, this wasn’t my dad. To this day I see the look on my dad’s face, and it makes me cry. His upper jaw was protruding out because of the swelling, his nose was swollen due to it being broken, and his eyes were puffy from crying and being concerned about Dayna. I have never in my life felt so scared for my dad’s life.

As we all know both dad and Dayna made a full recovery. They are healthy and happy and still together. They have had their ups and downs, but are still keeping on together because of the love they share.

Today 1-24-10

As a child of a parent that has been seriously injured in a motorcycle accident the idea of someone not wearing a helmet while riding scares me to death. As I drove past the sight of the accident I got an over whelming feeling that I need to encourage my dad to wear a helmet. If my dad and Dayna had been wearing helmet the injuries that they sustained wouldn’t have been as sever.

Here are some statistics I’ve found on the subject:


· Helmet use among fatally injured motorcyclists below 50 percent
· More motorcyclist fatalities are occurring on rural roads
· More riders age 40 and over are getting killed

1. Approximately three-fourths of these motorcycle accidents involved collision with another vehicle, which was most usually a passenger automobile.

2. Approximately one-fourth of these motorcycle accidents were single vehicle accidents involving the motorcycle colliding with the roadway or some fixed object in the environment.

3. Vehicle failure accounted for less than 3% of these motorcycle accidents, and most of those were single vehicle accidents where control was lost due to a puncture flat.

4. The failure of motorists to detect and recognize motorcycles in traffic is the predominating cause of motorcycle accidents. The driver of the other vehicle involved in collision with the motorcycle did not see the motorcycle before the collision, or did not see the motorcycle until too late to avoid the collision.

5. Intersections are the most likely place for the motorcycle accident, with the other vehicle violating the motorcycle right-of-way, and often violating traffic controls.

6. Most motorcycle accidents involve a short trip associated with shopping, errands, friends, entertainment or recreation, and the accident is likely to happen in a very short time close to the trip origin.

7. The view of the motorcycle or the other vehicle involved in the accident is limited by glare or obstructed by other vehicles in almost half of the multiple vehicle accidents.

8. Motorcycle riders between the ages of 16 and 24 are significantly over-represented in accidents; motorcycle riders between the ages of 30 and 50 are significantly under represented. Although the majority of the accident-involved motorcycle riders are male (96%), the female motorcycle riders are significantly over represented in the accident data.

9. The driver of the other vehicles involved in collision with the motorcycle is not distinguished from other accident populations except that the ages of 20 to 29, and beyond 65 are over represented. Also, these drivers are generally unfamiliar with motorcycles.

Although my dad and Dayna where not killed in the accident, they are among the other statistics where the biker wasn’t at fault and were injured. Please Please Please wear a HELMET when riding a motorcycle. I don’t want to get another phone call that someone I love has been hurt in an accident and didn’t do anything to help prevent the damage that may be caused. I guess I’m just scared it’ll happen again and that my dad won’t be as lucky next time, it scares me more than anything.


Dad, please wear a helmet it’ll save your life…

Love Kae