After work one night, Lee Ohnesorge had gone two blocks when he was crossing an interestion on his motorcycle. Bang! A drunk driver runs a red light and hits Lee broadside at over 60 mph. It threw him 85 feet (and his motorcycle 247 feet) and he landed on a concrete median divider.

Amazingly, Lee lived! Tragically, his injuries were massive and he was left paralyzed from the chest down.

During the first three months, his recovery was slow and his spirits were understandably low. That’s when I met Craig Chaquico who was in town doing interviews for his new CD release.

As a Limo driver, I was in a position to ask Craig for an autograph for Lee. Being a biker himself and also the victim of a drunk driver at age 12, Craig said that if I could arrange some transportation, he would go over and play a “set” for Lee in the hospital.

Craig’s “set” lasted 15 minutes longer than the concert he had just performed. Craig asked only one thing in return: that Lee get well enough to be able to make it to his next concert when he came back to town.

The inspiration and power to recover that was instilled in Lee that night was miraculous!!! After Craig’s visit, Lee’s recovery took off at a rapid. pace. It took him three more months for his arm to heal enough to be able to write. His first letter went to Craig to say “Thank you.”

As spring approached, Craig called to say that he would be coming in to town to do a show. He wanted to be sure that Lee could make it to his concert. When I visited Lee to tell him the good news - he had even better news! He was scheduled to be released from the hospital into a handicap accessible apartment the same day!

After 10 months in the hospital, it was time for a coming out party! I drove Craig to do another radio interview. This time he made a plea over the airwaves to find a Harley with a sidecar to bring Lee home. No luck.

We finally found a bro named Elmer to pick Lee up and take him to the show. It had been a long time since Lee had felt the wind in his hair. The smile on his face when he arrived at the concert was something that couldn’t be bought! Thank you, Elmer!

By Curt Hansen


Thanks to....
Elmer and the folks at Kokesh Motorcycle (Sidecar ride)
Derek Fessler and his Harley connections (for finding Elmer)
KCFE Radio 15.7
Fineline Nightclub - Minneapolis, MN
Premier Limousine
The hospitals and Courage center