Man injured in motorcycle collision faces months in hospital
Monday, July 21, 2008 11:47 PM PDT
By Amy M.E. Fischer
Printable version
E-mail this articleA Kelso man severely injured in a motorcycle wreck last week has been moved out of intensive care but is expected to remain hospitalized for three or four months, his family said Monday.
Steven D. Marshall, 29, shattered his right arm and his left thigh bone, peeled off his right kneecap, fractured two vertebrae in his neck and lacerated his liver and spleen when his 750 Kawasaki street-racing bike slammed into an SUV at the intersection of Mount Brynion Road and Minor Road last Wednesday. The SUV’s driver, a Castle Rock man, was unharmed.
Marshall, who does not have health insurance, is scheduled to have reconstructive surgery this Wednesday on his arm, which was broken in 12 places, said his father, Bruce Marshall of Kelso. His son also can’t move the left side of his body, but doctors can’t determine the full extent of his paralysis until his other injuries have healed, his father said.
A 1997 graduate of Kelso High School, Steve Marshall had just started a new job at the West Main Street Pub and Grill doing maintenance and had hoped to eventually become a bartender.
Wednesday night, Steve had gone out to dinner when he realized he forgot his wallet, his father said. He returned home to grab it and wrecked his motorcycle on his way back to the restaurant, Bruce Marshall said. He was wearing a helmet.
Kelso Police Sgt. Darr Kirk, who was on traffic patrol parked at Cowlitz View Memorial Gardens cemetery that night, said Marshall sped by him heading west on Mount Brynion Road at about 75 mph a few seconds before the collision. (Kirk said he didn’t know how fast Marshall was driving when he hit the SUV farther down the road). The Washington State Patrol is investigating the accident, which occurred in a 25 mph zone.
Bruce Marshall said Steve knew how dangerous the hill was because he’d lived on Mount Brynion all his life and would have slowed down by the cemetery. From his hospital bed, Steve told his father he was going 45 mph when he passed the police speed radar board. His bike, a Japanese “crotch rocket,” was outfitted with a loud muffler that made it sound like it was going faster than it was, Bruce Marshall said.
“I can’t say my son’s an angel,” he said. “Yes, Steve drives fast. But I do not believe he was doing 75 mph. Forty-five, 50, yes.”
His son’s an experienced rider who used to race motocross, Marshall said. Steve and his older brother Dale were ages 7 and 8 when their father gave them their first motorcycle, a Yamaha 50.
“He’s an adrenaline junkie,” Dale Marshall, now 30, said of his brother.
Hospitalized at Oregon Health and Science University in Portland, Steve Marshall had his feeding and breathing tubes removed Sunday and was moved out of the intensive care unit. He is in guarded critical condition, but he welcomes visitors, his father said.
“He’s got a very loving family and a lot of friends that love him,” Dale Marshall said.
You can help
Kelso resident Steve Marshall does not have health insurance, and his family is accepting donations to help pay his hospital bills. An account has been set up at Fibre Federal Credit Union under has father’s name, Bruce H. Marshall. The family also is putting donation jars in shops around town.
lveach396 wrote on Jul 22, 2008 8:36 AM:
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