In a second, victim's life changes forever

Claude Kelly of Reno liked to spend his weekends outdoors, riding his motorcycle on Northern Nevada's back roads, metal detecting and taking walks in the woods.

He used the downtime to relax before going back to work in retail sales at an auto wholesale parts company in Reno, according to his son, Jason Kelly.

That all came to a crashing halt March 18 when a white pickup truck swerved into the southbound travel lane of Foothill Road and knocked the 60-year-old Kelly off his motorcycle.

As a result of the accident, Kelly's left leg was amputated and he has been hospitalized in the intensive care unit at Renown Regional Medical Center in Reno where the bill is adding up at the rate of $15,000 a day.

"There is nothing good ahead," said Jason Kelly, a plumber's apprentice who lives in Montana and raced to his father's side the day after the accident.

He said doctors estimate it will be at least six months before Claude Kelly can put any weight on his leg.

He has had two surgeries on his left leg which ultimately was amputated below the knee.

'From the top of the thigh, it was pretty well shattered," his son said. "There were six steel plates in there holding it together.

"At this point, it's still so swollen, he can't put a cast on it. It's all pinned together. The other leg looked pretty good. He has really bad road rash all over him and he has pneumonia now from sitting in bed and some strange rash up and down his back."

Claude Kelly also has been unable to speak.

"He couldn't tell us what happened. Right after the accident, he was doing good just to keep his eyes open," Jason Kelly said.

The driver of the truck, 26-year-old Kimberly Eugina Garcia of Gardnerville, is to appear in Douglas County District Court on April 17 on a charge of failure to stop at the scene of an accident involving personal injury or death, a felony.

According to the Nevada Highway Patrol, Garcia said she swerved as she looked down at her cell phone, but she later recanted the story.

Officers said Kelly was thrown to the ground and Garcia fled the scene without stopping despite a flat tire and damage to her truck.

According to court reports, Garcia had received a 180-day suspended sentence last year for her second conviction of driving under the influence.

She received her first DUI conviction in Carson City for driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs, according to court reports.

She tested positive after her arrest and said she smoked marijuana on March 15.

"I was down there the Monday right after it happened," Kelly said. "Dad was semi-coherent. I think he understood why we were there, but it was hard to tell."

In the three weeks since the accident, Jason Kelly said his father is more alert.

"He can tap his fingers once for 'yes' and twice for 'no.' He's still in the neck brace because of a breathing tube," Kelly said.

His father had difficulty with the anesthetic, Kelly said, which was impacting his chest muscles and making it difficult to breathe on his own.

Kelly said as soon as his father is able to breathe on his own, he'll be out of ICU.

He plans to ask his father to come to Montana to recuperate.

In the meantime, Jason Kelly said his 85-year-old grandmother flew to Reno to stay with her son who has lived in the area for more than a dozen years.

Even with a limited ability to communicate, Kelly said he can tell how frustrated his father is.

"He's getting pretty belligerent in ICU," he said. "He's real active."

Kelly said he was grateful to his father's friends and colleagues for keeping him company since the accident.

"There were maybe six or seven people a day stopping by the hospital or calling the house to see how he was," he said. "He has some very good friends."