On Tuesday Streetsblog Chicago ran a story about food delivery cyclist Drew Boyle, 21, who suffered a broken jaw and eye socket in a bike crash in Uptown last week and launched a GoFundMe page to help cover his expenses. With the intention of getting the details about what happened, as well as publicizing the crowdfunding campaign, I contacted Boyle and interviewed him for the article.
Boyle told me he had recently got out the hospital for the injuries he received when his head hit a car's windshield during the crash. When I called him I asked him whether he had sustained any brain injuries, and if he was sure he was in a proper frame of mind to do an interview. Boyle told me he had not suffered a brain injury and was ready to talk. He then told me a story about pursuing a man who had stolen money from his apartment, and crashing into a car during the chase. Boyle said he didn't plan to press charges against the thief.
This morning Boyle's mother Amy called to notify me that, contrary to what her son had told me, he had suffered a concussion, and shouldn't have done the interview. She added that it's not clear what actually happened before the crash, but it appears that Drew made several inaccurate statements in the interview.
While I wrote this article with the goal of helping a crash victim, I regret publicizing this apparently inaccurate story and, lesson learned, will be sure to double check statements made by crash survivors under similar circumstances in the future. I wish Boyle a speedy and complete recovery from his injuries.
