Shaun 84 Targa was in a bad wreck

[dtw]

All - crossposted from OT, as I know many here don't visit that forum and Shaun is a heavy contributor on here on 911 tech as well. Thanks,

From thread:
Shaun was in a wreck

All,
I got a very brief, very scary voicemail this morning from Shaun (Shaun84Targa). Last night he was on the way back from his show in NYC and was in a bad wreck, which totaled his car. The responders to the wreck said he was lucky to be alive. It sounded like he was in the hospital. As soon as I know more, I will post. In the meantime, please join me in expressing good thoughts and sending prayers of support his way.

Update, Monday @ 7pm EST:
OK, I finally got an update on Shaun. He is more alert this evening, and much better able to string thoughts together and recall memories (which weren't working too well the first two times we spoke), and his mom flew in to help take care of him. He is still at the hospital - St. Vincent's in Bridgeport, CT. The damage tally is a broken toe, dislocated hip, broken pelvis, and some cerebral hemorrhaging (plus lots of cuts and bruises).

He is hoping to be discharged tomorrow, if he gets a clean MRI on his cranial bleeding. He's going to need our continued thoughts and prayers, as he's got a bit of rehab ahead of him. He's also smack dab in the middle of his busy season at work, and had a show in NYC this week. The timing couldn't have been worse, unfortunately.

Update, Monday @ 8pm EST:
I have set up a fund to help Shaun get back on his feet. It would be awesome if you could contribute.



From thread:
Recovery fund for Shaun

All,
As you may have read here, Shaun was in a wreck, one of our longtime contributors, Shaun Budka, was in a terrible car wreck this weekend. He has sustained cerebral hemorrhaging, a broken pelvis, and a dislocated hip, among lots of other minor damage. His station wagon was completely destroyed (65mph head-on collision with stationary object - even a W124 Benz couldn't survive that).

If you have been around this board any length of time at all, chances are that Shaun has done you a favor. He's sent out free or almost-free car parts to many of us. He's sent free clothing for our kids from his business. And perhaps most noteworthy of all, he actually organized the surprise rebuilding of another member's totaled 911 track car. If memory serves, that member was between jobs at the time and funds weren't available to replace the car, and it was a bitter loss to suffer.

To keep the good karma flowing, I'd like to help Shaun get back on his feet. Shaun is in many ways a one-man show at his business, and he has been blessed each season with orders larger than the last. The downside of this is that each season, he has been reinvesting every dime of cash flow back into the business, mostly to fund production. He's going to need some cash to help with his recovery. I'm calling upon everyone to contribute, any amount will help. Hopefully the funds raised can help him get a new car, get some rehab/physical therapy, hire some extra help, whatever his needs may be.

I've set up a paypal fund to collect funds; just click the button below. Every dime (less paypal fees) will go directly to Shaun. It would be great if we could raise $5K or more to help him get on his feet. Any amount will help, but in the spirit of Shaun's occasional t-shirt sales here, I'm requesting at least $25. Thanks again, and I'll post daily updates on our fundraising progress. I'll start us off with $100 into the pot.

Paypal link removed - goal met and exceeded - the Pelicans are the best!

Update, Friday 8.10.12 @ 12pm EST
All,
This has been a phenomenal experience to be a part of. We have raised far more money than I had thought possible. In less than 5 short days, we have raised over $9,000! This is almost double the working goal of $5K that I had established, and will net over $8,800 for Shaun after paypal fees. These funds will primarily be used to replace the W124 wagon and cover some of the miscellaneous medical and other costs related to the wreck. I also hope Shaun buys a new car charger for his cel phone, which has been MIA since the accident . I did inform Shaun last night of what we’ve done, and he is completely overwhelmed. I will let him express himself when he’s ready; I won’t say anything further, except that he is completely blown away and still processing this. What I told him is that this is not a charity case, just a karmic repayment (though we are going to expect pics of his new ride). Many of the contributors have posted, PM’d, or emailed with stories about the things Shaun has done to help them out. Some of the best stories aren’t even public information on this board, but they’re just more accounts of what we already know.

Thank you so much to everyone who has participated, whether you sent along a word of encouragement, a prayer, and/or a donation. The worst is over for Shaun but the recovery is going to take months, and as he tries to cope with what happened, the threads here on Pelican are going to help him out a lot.

At this time I am going to remove the links to the donation fund as I believe we have accomplished much more than we expected. Thanks again to everyone – you guys are the best.
-dtw

[Ryan H]

Sounds like a good guy...I'm in.

[dtw]

Thank you so much for the continued donations. The paypal notification emails have been pouring in today. We are making a meaningful impact here. I didn't get to talk to Shaun today, but he texted me and is headed straight to bed. Before he went to bed, he emailed me these

[cantdrv55]

Wow, he is lucky to be alive for sure!

[FrenchToast]

That looks pretty bad.

Terrific he is alive!

Wishing him the best recovery.

Let us know how he is progressing!

See if you can get this thread (or another in another sub-forum) 'stickied'.

[Quicksilver]

Originally Posted by dtw

Thank you so much for the continued donations. The paypal notification emails have been pouring in today. We are making a meaningful impact here. I didn't get to talk to Shaun today, but he texted me and is headed straight to bed. Before he went to bed, he emailed me these

Geeze... The pictures are just jaw dropping. One little bright point is that no one was on the passenger side. That just wouldn't be survivable.
Just looking at the damage and with his reported injuries I think it is unlikely that he will be able to remember it either.

It is just amazing that he is "ok".

[cdrik915]

He has been lucky having a Mercedes on my own.

My best wishes for his recovery ,


Cheers ,


Ced'

[Grady Clay]

Shaun,

Recover quickly, there is a lot more to do.

Best,
Grady

[einsteiger]

I'm in. I've seen people survive things in a Benz that normally would not be survivable. Best wishes for his complete recovery. Heading to PayPal now.

[msterling]

I bought some cool t-shirts from Shaun. He goes out of his way to be helpful. I just sent him a little help.

Shaun,

Get better soon! There are few enough guys like you.

[kach22i]

I have not seen the pictures before.

Lucky to be alive is right.

Get well, we need more tees.

[glewis80SC]

That is one hell of a hit, lucky to be alive for sure. I'm in.

[Dublinoh]

Bump it up and I'm in too.