‘My son has broken almost every bone in his body:’ 16-year-old on long road to recovery after motorcycle, car crash

DECATUR, Ill. (WCIA) – A 16-year-old is on a long road to recovery after he was hit by a car while riding his motorcycle.

“My son has broken almost every bone in his body,” said Patrick Stokes, Sean Stokes’ father. “He’s had his future taken away from him. My son is an athlete. He has competed in football, basketball, athletic events and competes regularly at Highland Games. He won’t be able to do any of this anymore.”

On Friday, Sean had just finished his shift at work, had a meal with a friend and was on his way home on his motorcycle wearing his helmet. He was driving down the 2500 block of North 22nd Street in Decatur.

That’s when police said a car tried to turn left into a private property parking lot and crashed into Sean.

He was taken to Decatur Memorial Hospital, fighting for his life.

“He had to have sections of his bowel resectioned, his pelvic ring is torn to shreds,” Patrick said. “Both knees are shattered, both wrists, his forearm shattered, his hand is destroyed, his collarbones are broken, his ribs are punctured, his lungs, and his jaw is broken in three places.”

Patrick said his son was in exploratory surgery for hours, but Sean’s injuries were too much for the hospital to handle. He was transferred to HSHS St. John’s Hospital in Springfield with his stomach cut open from his sternum to his navel because of extensive internal bleeding.

“He’s fighting,” Patrick said. “He’s responding non-verbally to us. He’s still intubated, still heavily, heavily sedated, but we get the occasional smirk, we get the occasional smile.”

Authorities said Karen A. Boehm, 63, of Decatur hit Sean and that she was under the influence of drugs at the time. She was arrested and faces several charges including aggravated driving under the influence of drugs causing bodily harm, driving with a revoked license and operating an uninsured motor vehicle.

To help cover his medical bills, Sean’s family set up a GoFundMe page .

“The community of Decatur has been truly magnanimous,” Patrick said. “People we haven’t talked to in years have reached out caring for him.”

While the Stokes are grateful for the support, Patrick said his son still has a long road ahead, including more surgeries to repair broken bones and joints, and therapy afterwards.

“We are hoping and praying that he will have a full recovery,” Patrick said. “If he limps, we know he’s going to have limited motion of his wrists, maybe his legs too, but he’s alive.”

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