FORT MYERS, Fla. — Joseph Madden’s truck broke down when he was driving on Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd just before Ortiz Ave. Saturday. His girlfriend Misty Cross and their three kids daughters were in the car with him.
He got out of his truck, grabbed his cables, and started waving down passing cars for help. In an instant, Cross says a motorcycle sped right into him, ripping his leg off.
Madden is now at Lee Memorial Hospital on a ventilator and in a coma. Cross visits him every morning.
“At the hospital, I just sit there and I hold his hand, and I tell him baby it’s okay, I’m right here,” she said.
Cross says thankfully the motorcyclist stayed at the scene of the crash, but her only hope was that he had been more careful.
Madden also lost his right leg and has broken ribs and a spinal fracture. Cross says his life will never be the same.
“He’s a handyman. He uses his hands. He uses his legs. Now he has one leg,” she said.
Their family had just sold the home they were living in, and they were all planning to move to North Carolina. A move they have to reconsider.
Fort Myers Police Department says they’re investigating what led to the crash, but madden’s sister Michelle Ellis says it’s the motorcyclist’s fault.
“Motorcycles need to be held accountable for the fact that they feel like they own the road,” she said.
Florida law does not require motorcycle insurance to register a bike, but there are financial penalties if a motorcyclist is found responsible for any bodily harm. Cross says she wants stricter laws.
“Jail time. Absolutely jail time. This whole situation. This should’ve never happened,” she said.
Cross started a gofundme fundraiser to help pay for Madden’s surgeries.
