RICHMOND, Va. — Rachael Santmyer said her husband, Erik’s love of rides came to an abrupt stop three weeks ago when Erik was involved in a near-fatal motorcycle crash. He was hit during rush hour on Main Street while riding to work at Skybox in the Fan.
"I heard everything. His phone was in his lap. I heard the entire ambulance ride. I heard what they did to him in the trauma ward. I heard him shouting," Rachael said.
Erik spent the next two and a half weeks intubated in the ICU as his family anxiously waited, knowing he was fighting hard for his life.
"He's an amazing, amazing man. He's charming, he's chivalrous, he has a very strong work ethic. He's a beautiful person," Rachael said.
Doctors discovered Erik remarkably turned a corner last week, and his road to recovery became much clearer.
"His first words coming out of basically the coma were, 'I freaking love you,' and tears fell," Rachael said.
However, good news is not a reality for families of many riders.
Roughly 180,000 Virginians use motorcycles regularly. The Virginia State Police reported that 26 motorcyclists have been killed so far this year, fueling troopers to increase roadway safety and expand events like their summer "Ride 2 Save Lives" safety program.
While Erik's accident stopped him from making his shift at Skybox, his work family hasn't stopped thinking of him. The restaurant will be holding a bike night fundraiser and awareness event in his honor Thursday from 3 to 9 p.m.
"My cup runneth over. It really does. My heart could almost explode from the love and the support and the servitude," Rachael said. "I just knew he wasn't ready to leave me. He's a smart rider. He's a safe rider and I know, I just know that it was meant to be."
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