Key Largo motorcyclist remains in ICU after crash with car

A Key Largo man is still in intensive care in a mainland hospital almost a week after he was struck by a car while he was riding his motorcycle on U.S. 1.

Christopher Todd Fouts, 43, was riding his 2018 Harley-Davidson south on the highway last Wednesday around 6:20 p.m. when a 2007 Toyota Corolla driven by Emily Jade Drotman, 69, pulled out onto the road from Canal Street directly into his path.

The Harley hit the left side of the Toyota, causing the car to spin around clockwise twice.

The car hit the side of the Harley on the second rotation, ejecting Fouts, who landed on the highway on his back, according to a Florida Highway Patrol report released Monday. Medics flew him to Kendall Regional Medical Center, where he remained in the intensive care unit with serious injuries Monday.

Drotman, from San Anselmo, California, was taken to Mariners Hospital in Tavernier and treated for minor injuries. FHP troopers cited her with failure to yield to oncoming traffic.

Fouts’ wife, Stephanie Matlock Fouts, said her husband is being treated for nine fractured ribs, fluid in his lungs and injuries to his wrist and ankles. Fouts was wearing his helmet.

“We were hoping to get out of the ICU today, but that was a no-go,” Matlock Fouts said in a Facebook message Monday afternoon.

This story was originally published July 1, 2019 at 4:12 PM.