CHARLOTTE — A Ballantyne man who was in a serious motorcycle crash is recovering in the hospital as his family searches for the driver of an SUV they believe caused a chain reaction.
On Dec. 12, Ed Hollingsworth was on his way to work, driving his motorcycle in Ballantyne, when tragedy struck.
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“I just remember my world spinning,” said Scarlett Hollingsworth, Ed Hollingworth’s wife.
She remembers being in disbelief when she got the call that her husband was in the hospital after a bad accident.
Hollingsworth was driving along Elm Lane, according to a police accident report, when a black SUV turned out in front of him. In an effort to keep from hitting the SUV, Scarlett Hollingsworth said her husband hit the brakes hard on his motorcycle as he pivoted to miss the SUV. She believes the velocity threw him over the handlebars, into oncoming traffic.
Ed Hollingsworth was run over by another car going the opposite way as his motorcycle slid into that same car. That car then hit another vehicle exiting the Thornhill neighborhood.
“He broke his tibia, his fibula and his kneecap. So, basically crushed that,” Scarlett Hollingsworth said. “He crushed his right lower part of his left leg, his tibia. He has eight fractured ribs. He had a lacerated kidney, and we think it’s OK, but (there is) a slight brain bleed.”
Pictures taken from a witness show Ed Hollingsworth’s bike in pieces, scattered on the road. Another photo shows his motorcycle seat under the car that ran over him.
The Hollingsworth family doesn’t blame the driver who ran over the man. They realize the driver had no other choice, but they do blame the driver of the SUV that they say caused the crash and never stopped.
The family wants to know who the driver of the SUV, was and they’re trying their best through social media to garner any tips they can.
“I really want to know why the person did not stop,” Scarlett Hollingsworth said. “And I would love to know who the person is.”
Meanwhile, Ed Hollingsworth is recovering at Atrium CMC Main. He’s undergone multiple hourslong surgeries to reconstruct his legs.
Hollingsworth’s loved ones are grateful for the support from family, friends and medical staff, who are getting them through a difficult time, and they are thankful Ed Hollingsworth survived.
“His body is broken, and we are traumatized by it, but he’s here,” Scarlett Hollingsworth added.
Channel 9 reached out to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department to see if they are also searching for the SUV driver and if any charges could be brought against the driver.
At the time of this report, we had not heard back from the police.
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