Motorcyclist, still critical, has ‘enough brain activity to support breathing ... heartbeat’

The family of Josh Doerr is asking for the public’s help as he remains in critical condition after a hit-and-run crash in rural Madison County.

Doerr’s mother, LaLonna Doerr, wrote online that she received “the call that all parents dread” the night that Josh was hit while sitting on his stopped motorcycle to talk with his sister Jenny, who was in her car at the intersection of Baumann and Keyesport roads. Josh’s brother, Jacob Doerr, is a firefighter with the Highland-Pierron Fire Department and was among the first-responders called to the scene, finding his own brother there.

LaLonna wrote that she drove to the accident scene, and Jacob told her, “It’s not good, Mom. Not good at all.” She wrote that she had to walk past a pool of her son’s blood toward the helicopter waiting to take Josh across the river to Saint Louis University Hospital, where he has remained since the crash on Aug. 16.

Josh Doerr, 31, suffered two collapsed lungs, rib fractures, spinal fractures and other internal injuries that required removing one of his kidneys, according to LaLonna’s account. He had severe brain injuries, including severing the nerve to his right eye and a stroke that injured every lobe of the brain except the stem and cerebellum, LaLonna wrote.

Meantime, the driver accused of hitting Josh is out on $7,000 cash bond, facing charges of aggravated driving under the influence of alcohol and failure to report an injury accident. Christy G. Cummins, 37, of Carlyle, was arrested shortly after the collision — her license plate was found at the scene, according to Madison County State’s Attorney Tom Gibbons. Gibbons said based on the severity of the impact, they believe the vehicle that hit him was going at a very high rate of speed.

Julia Doerr, Josh’s sister, declined Saturday to speak at length about Cummins. “It is what it is,” she said. “We just have to to sit back and wait.”

After several days in intensive care, he continues to show enough brain activity to support breathing and heartbeat, LaLonna wrote. She could not be reached for further updates on Saturday. The family created a Facebook page titled “Our Love of Josh” to give updates to family and friends. It reported that on Friday, doctors planned to try to wean Josh off life support and install a feeding tube for long-term care.

“Daily I observe his motionless body and am told he will be transferred to an acute-care hospital almost 1 1/2 hours from home because his payer sources do not cover the acute care facility close to home,” LaLonna Doerr wrote.

LaLonna Doerr wrote that Cummins’ insurance “will be tied up in litigation for a long time.” Therefore, she has launched a GoFundMe site to raise $200,000 for Josh’s medical care. As of Saturday afternoon, it has raised $1,171.

If convicted, Cummins could face up to three years in prison on the aggravated DUI and up to seven years on failure to report the accident.

This story was originally published August 27, 2016 at 3:33 PM with the headline "Motorcyclist, still critical, has ‘enough brain activity to support breathing ... heartbeat’."