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Car hits motorcycle, injures man riding it

By ASJYLYN LODER
Published July 23, 2006

Michael Foote's father clutched his son's shoes and stared at the shattered motorcycle. Paramedics gathered up the 21-year-old's helmet, shredded clothing, and pieces of the Suzuki GSX-R 1000.

John Foote shook his head, rattled but relieved after paramedics reassured him that his son would be all right.

"I'm glad he had his helmet on," said John Foote.

The helmet probably saved his life, said the Spring Hill Fire Rescue paramedics that responded to the Saturday afternoon crash. Foote collided with a white Pontiac Grand Am at Mariner and Northcliffe Boulevards.

"He said he was pulling out, and someone didn't see him and hit him," said Pat Foote, the injured man's mother.

Foote, 21, of Spring Hill shattered his left arm in three places, but was otherwise okay, Pat Foote said Saturday evening. Surgeons planned to piece the bones back together, and Foote was expected to be hospitalized for several days, she said.

After talking to officers, the driver of the Grand Am borrowed a stranger's cell phone to call for a ride. The driver was identified as Marilyn L. Grover, 79, of Spring Hill, said Donna Black, a spokeswoman for the Hernando County Sheriff's Office.

Grover waited at a nearby McDonald's, clearly upset as paramedics load Foote into an ambulance.

"He flew through the air," she said, "I'll never forget it."

Foote was airlifted to St. Joseph's Hospital in Tampa in stable condition. The accident was still under investigation, and there was no information available about charges.

Asjylyn Loder can be reached at aloder@sptimes.com or 352754-6127.

[Last modified July 23, 2006, 07:19:58]