On Tuesday afternoon, Dan Hall left his home on Plantation Street in Worcester, climbed onto his 1998 Honda Valkyrie motorcycle, and headed off to work at a local liquor store. Minutes later, he was hit by a car trying to make a turn from the other direction and critically injured.
“My boss called me and said ‘Hey, I can’t get a hold of your son. He’s late for his shift. He’s never late,’” his mother, and co-worker at the liquor store, Sue Hall said. “And right away we all kind of knew something was up.”
Dan has already been through multiple surgeries at the UMass Medical Center’s Intensive Care Unit in Worcester. He lost at least part of his left arm and doctors are desperately trying to save his right one, all while trying to keep the rest of his devastated body together.
The entire crash was captured on his helmet-mounted GoPro camera.
“It shows on the video that Dan, at the last minute, sees this guy turning into him and Dan accelerates to try to get away from him but it just wasn’t quick enough,” his mother said. “Dan almost held it together. He almost kept that bike upright because he’s such an experienced rider, but sadly, he lost it and Dan’s body rode the guardrail that’s there, and it ripped him apart.”
The GoPro was a gift from his younger brother, Alex Hall, who refused to let Dan ride without it. The family hasn’t seen the video, but they say Worcester police relayed what it showed. Perhaps the biggest tragedy is how close Dan came to escaping.
“They literally said if he had a millisecond more time to respond, he probably would have got out of it and had a lot less injuries,” Alex said.
Police say the elderly driver who hit Dan initially drove off, but was later stopped. It’s unclear at the moment what charges that driver may face. His identity has not been released and the accident remains under investigation.
Dan, whose mother describes as a fun-loving 31-year-old nerd who never grew up, has a passion for motorcycles. The bike he was riding at the time was his pride and joy. His love for riding motorcycles is so strong, he hasn’t bought a car.
“He lives on his bike,” his brother said. “The only time he gets off is if there’s a thunderstorm or if it’s too cold for him. He goes to the beach on it, he takes his friends on it, he could live on that thing. I feel like if he had all the money in the world, he’d still only get motorcycles. I can’t even describe his love not only that bike in general, but just riding as it is.”
That passion was passed on down from older to younger brother years ago. At 15, Alex faced his own life-threatening fight when he suffered heart failure. The family rallied around Alex through sleepless nights at Boston Children’s Hospital. It was then Dan made a promise to his younger brother.
“When I was in the hospital, he said ‘if you get better, you can have my bike,’” Alex said. “To me, it meant so much and it was my motivation to not only start riding but get better. And he did it. He gave me his bike once I got better. Ever since then I’ve been riding. That’s what’s making this so hard for me, because he’s the reason I started riding.”
His mother added, “Dan was so desperate to save his brother’s life that he was willing to give away his most prized possession, and gave up his life to spend a month at Boston Children’s Hospital bedside by his brother. He gave up school and his life, and it’s time somebody gives back to Dan, because Dan is always giving.”
Dan’s outgoing, sarcastic personality has endeared him to just about everyone who met him, whether it was at the liquor store he was working in during the COVID-19 pandemic, or his usual job as a bartender at the 99 on West Boylston St. He met his girlfriend behind the bar there, and now she’s keeping vigil by his bedside, hoping to help him pull through.
Dan might not be alive at all had it not been for the people who jumped in to help him on Tuesday however they could. Some comforted him with prayers until the paramedics arrived. Others tried to help prevent his already horrific injuries from getting worse. Some chased down the driver to make sure he didn’t disappear. His mother says they’re all heroes to her.
“The people who helped catch this man who took off and the people who stopped are what my priorities are. To thank them personally,” she said. “I want to look them in the eye and thank them personally. I want them to meet Dan when Dan gets out of this and they’re going to know that they stopped and helped an amazing young man who is always giving back.”
The family has started a GoFundMe to help pay for what will surely be extraordinarily high medical bills, including, eventually, a prosthetic arm. It has already raised more than $32,000.
Hall’s fight is far from over. Doctors on Friday will try once again to save his right arm. His internal injuries are massive, and he has several broken bones, all of which still put his life at risk.
“This family has already been through enough,” Sue said. “I want the community to think about something else instead of rioting and COVID and who’s better than who. I want them to rally around my son. I know it’s a lot. I want another miracle.”
June 26, 2020 at 01:27AM
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Worcester’s Dan Hall loses arm, now fighting for his life after hit-and-run motorcycle crash - MassLive.com
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