Badly Injured, Jerry Colgate Out Of Coma
By LIBBY CUDMORE • The Freeman’s Journal
Edition of Thursday, Nov. 20, 2014
Jerry Colgate, CCS ’04, is coming out of an induced coma and his condition seems to be improving after he was struck by a hit-and-run driver in the early hours of Sunday, Nov. 9, in Charlottesville, Va., where he has been living.
“He’s been doing very well,” his mother, Sarah Colgate of Cooperstown, said Tuesday, Nov.18. “The doctors here are phenomenal. They’re taking good care of him and he’s healing much faster than anybody expected.”
On hearing the news, the mother and her twin daughters, Niki and Jessi, made the 10-hour drive down to the University of Virginia Medical Center. Since, they’ve been at his bedside 24 hours a day, with the daughters taking shifts during the day and Sarah overnight.
Because of an outpouring of support from friends, the mother said she restricted visitors to 12 hours a day. “Right now we’re concentrating on getting Jeremiah well,” she said. The doctors have told the family it will be a lengthy recuperation, she added.
Five days after Jerry was struck, Ashlie Shanice Wells, 22, was arrested and charged with the hit-and-run. She is being held without bail at Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail.
For Jason Gaviria, a friend of Jerry’s who is now living in Virginia and was soon at his friend’s side, the happening has him thinking about their good times together. In particular, he remembers how Jerry helped him prepare to propose to his wife, Kari. “He drove eight hours from New York City to Virginia to get me, then drove back and walked my dogs while I met with jewelers,” Jason said.
Though Jerry remains in serious condition, the Gavirias agreed their friend is improving. “The doctors have taken him out of the medically induced coma, but he’s still heavily sedated,” said Kari. “But he’s wiggling his toes, he squeezes your hand, he’s initiating his own breathing.”
But they also know know it’s going to be a long road to recovery, and have set up a GoFundMe page for him. In seven days, more 150 people donated over $12,000, with more donations coming in every day. “That so many people were so quick to donate says so much about how he touched people’s lives,” said Jason. “We’ve had people say, ‘I met him once, but one time was enough.’ And they donate. The smallest interaction with him created a bond.”
“He’s got good karma for days,” added Kari.
Earlier this week, the couple also started a #LiveLikeJerry campaign on Facebook and Twitter to help raise awareness of the cause, and began selling tie-dye bandanas like the ones Jerry used to wear. “The only time I ever saw him without that bandana was at my wedding,” said Kari. “I’m wearing mine right now, and when he wakes up, he’ll be able to see us all wearing them for him.”
Though it does appear he’ll recover, both friends and family know it will be an uphill battle. “A lot of time, you see this stuff blow up on social media and then everyone forgets about it,” said Kari. “But he’ll be facing this for the rest of his life.”
And his friends and family all plan to be there every step of the way. “He’s done so much for all of us,” said Jason. “We can do this for him.”