Motorcycle crash victim’s family grateful for helpful strangers
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IDAHO FALLS — A crash involving a motorcycle and another vehicle sent one person to the hospital Friday afternoon.
The crash happened around 12:20 p.m., according to Kerry Hammon, spokesperson for the Idaho Falls Fire Department.
Lloyd Youngblood, 70, was riding south on Woodruff, when a car turning left onto the same road pulled out and hit him, his daughter, Lindsay Anderson, says.
“The bike went flying one way and my dad went flying another way,” Anderson told EastIdahoNews.com.
Motorcycles are Youngblood’s passion, Anderson says, and he was enjoying a ride in the warm weather.
Youngblood was taken to a local hospital in an ambulance, authorities said. His injuries were considered non-life-threatening, but that doesn’t mean they weren’t severe.
Anderson said her father’s left foot was broken in the crash, but his right foot took the brunt of the damage. There are several bones in the foot with multiple fractures. The heel pad was peeled away from the bone. Several ligaments, tendons and at least one nerve were severed.
Youngblood underwent emergency surgery Friday night and will require more surgeries in the future.
Anderson said her father has a long road to recovery.
“He likely will not be able to use or walk on his right foot for three to six months,” she said. “He will remain hospitalized for quite some time.”
Youngblood is a construction superintendent and was planning to retire in two years, according to Anderson. It is unclear when or if he’ll be able to return to work.
Anderson and her two sisters are grateful to those who came to their father’s aid before the ambulance arrived.
“Right after impact, he remembers a lady who said she was a nurse comforting him and checking the basics while waiting for the ambulance,” she said.
Two or three other people stopped to help as well.
“Our family (is grateful to them) for taking the time to help a man who is our hero and means so much to me and my two sisters,” Anderson said.
While the incident has been “nothing short of terrifying” for them, the sisters know their father is in good hands.
“The trauma surgeon, Dr. Olaveson, and the orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Mennear, have been amazing,” she said.
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