On the afternoon of June 27, Dakota Davis of Hot Sulphur Springs took his motorcycle meet up with friends and coworkers for ice cream. What started a celebratory drive to Grand Lake on his newly purchased bike ended with a catastrophic vehicle collision.

Colorado State Patrol stated that Dakota Davis, 21, was struck by a truck with a trailer on U.S. Highway 34.

Dakota now faces a long recovery. His older sister, Caitlin Davis, has started a GoFundMe to help the family pay for medical and travel expenses.

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“As he was driving, someone decided to make an absolutely senseless decision crossing in front of him, almost ending his life,” Caitlin Davis wrote on the GoFundMe page. “This was not his fault. He did everything right. I cannot even begin to explain the anger, sadness, and questions we are all still feeling.”

Life-altering collision  

Caitlin Davis shared the details of the collision and Dakota’s path to recovery with Sky-Hi News. She also credited good Samaritans on the scene who helped save her brother’s life, including nurses who were driving behind Dakota when the collision happened.

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According to Colorado State Patrol, Dakota was riding his Yamaha motorcycle eastbound on Highway 34 and the driver of the truck, a 64-year-old man from Aurora named Ronald Jensen, was headed westbound in an F150 pulling a boat on a trailer.

Jensen turned south toward County Road 61, directly into the path of the motorcycle as Dakota was traveling towards him in the oncoming lane.

Witnesses, including those driving behind Dakota, told the Davis family that Dakota tried to stop, but it was too late.

He didn’t have enough time because the truck driver “pulled right in front of him; he didn’t even really have time to react,” said Caitlin.

The Davis family determined that Dakota and his motorcycle struck the trailer hitch between the truck and the boat, causing his leg be severed.

“That’s where we believe the injuries of his leg occurred,” Caitlin said. “Then he kind of flew through the air. That’s how we think he got a lot of those upper body injuries, where he would have hit the ground.”

Colorado State Patrol’s report of the incident states that Dakota received life-threatening injuries, which necessitated a medevac helicopter to transport him to Denver for care. He lost his right leg below the knee as a result of the collision.

Jensen was charged with careless driving causing serious bodily injury. The investigation is ongoing, according to Colorado State Patrol.

Good Samaritans on the scene

Before emergency medical services arrived at the scene, Caitlin said that three nurses from Nebraska rushed into action. They’d been driving directly behind Dakota.

“It was just the right person, right place type of situation,” she said, adding the nurses started to tourniquet his injured leg. ” … Definitely a blessing they were there.”

The nurses used a belt as a makeshift tourniquet to minimize bleeding from Dakota’s severed leg until emergency responders arrived, Caitlin said.

“I cannot begin to thank the people God placed in front of us and around Dakota. He is incredibly strong but so many people had their hands on him keeping him alive.”

Caitlin Davis, GoFundMe

About two minutes later, Officer Jonathan Stark with the Granby Police Department arrived on scene.

“He was the one who applied the actual tourniquet for his leg. And honestly, I think the four of them are who we credit for saving him,” she expressed.

EMS arrived on scene and transported Dakota to Middle Park Health. From there, a medevac helicopter took him to Denver Health.

“It was less than an hour from the accident from when he got flown,” she said. “Everybody moved pretty quickly.”

Dakota remains in good spirits as he faces a long path ahead

Currently, Dakota is in the surgical ICU with multiple surgeries ahead of him, said Caitlin.

She said that Dakota will eventually be fitted with a prosthetic leg. Despite the trauma, he is “in good spirits” and “incredibly strong,” she added.

The timeline for his recovery is uncertain. Doctors have told the family it will be about eight to 12 weeks before he gets through the first stage of recovery.

“Unfortunately, we don’t know until he gets to go through all the processes,” she explained. “Our biggest hope right now is that he gets to a step down ICU. We’re just taking stuff day by day.”

According to Caitlin, Dakota had been extremely proud of his motorcycle, which was the first one he had purchased with his own money, after passing all his courses to earn his motorcycle license. He also bought $1,800 of “top of the line safety equipment,” which Caitlin credits for helping save him from greater injury.

“He saved up for (the motorcycle) … it was really important to him,” she said. “Someone took that away from him.”

She added that road safety is a huge issue, and that people should strive to be patient. Collisions can happen in a split second if someone makes a wrong decision. She also reflected on her brother’s ability to be “incredibly brave” through this time.

“He’s a phenomenal kid; he works really hard,” she said. “Obviously, his life is gonna be changed forever … he’s said he’s very grateful to be alive.”

Dakota has been kind and thankful to the nursing staff at Denver Health, who Caitlin also thanked for keeping him alive. She added that he’s also been in God’s hands.

“God was definitely involved in the care for him, and the fact that he’s still with us,” she said. “Obviously his family’s gonna be around him constantly. We haven’t left his side.”

Dakota ‘relearns to live this life’  

On the GoFundMe page Caitlin has created, she expresses thanks for everyone who has helped her brother in this time, after his life was forever changed because of someone else’s careless driving.

“Motorcyclists should be respected on the roadways,” she wrote on the page. “People need to learn to take more care and responsibility for the lives around them. Things can be taken away so so quickly.”

She adds that her family welcomes donations, prayers and messages as Dakota faces new challenges and “relearns to live this life.”

To contribute to the recovery effort, go to gofundme.com/f/dakotas-fight-healing-after-tragedy. As of press time, the community has raised $13,135 for Dakota.