Chicago's Tom Negovan feeling lucky to be alive after motorcycle accident
WGN's Tom Negovan suffered serious injuries to his back and his head after being struck on his motorcycle over the weekend.
Negovan, who normally wears a helmet when he rides, decided not to wear his helmet on Sunday. "It was just a nice sunny day. I thought I'd take a quick ride without and, sure enough, that's the day."
Negovan originally planned on taking a short ride on the Kennedy. Traffic was heavy so he decided to exit the expressway and headed south on Harlem Ave.
The car that hit Negovan was headed north on Harlem. The driver made a left hand turn in front of Negovan. Negovan remembers seeing the driver make the turn in front of him but does not recall the moment that the driver hit him.
Negovan suffered two factured vertebrae and had lacerations on the back of his head wihich required nineteen staples. He undwent a two hours of spinal surgery to repair the fractures.
Susanna Negovan, Tom;s wife, says the worst is over. "He was hit head on. It was brutal. It was a brutal few days, but he had surgery and everything went really well, the nightmare is over.
Negovan's recovery will take about three months. He will need to wear a back brace, but he should be able to return to work within a few weeks.
Back in June, Negovan spent fourteen days in Afghanistan with soldiers from Illinois.
Susanna Negovan would prefer that her husband not ride motorcycles anymore.
Negovan says that he'll miss his motorcycle, "but out of respect for my wife, first Afghanistan and now this, I think I'll put the bikes away."
