Motorcycle strikes Kent State student

Bryan Wroten

After being hit by a motorcycle Thursday night, junior exploratory major Chris Hutton is in satisfactory condition and will undergo surgery today to reconstruct his right hip socket.

Hutton said he was out with friends when the accident occurred. The group was crossing East Summit Street near Pisces Drive to catch a bus, and he and his friend Jessica Veneri, a sophomore exploratory major, were in front.

After getting to the other side of the street, he said a motorcycle came out from behind the bus toward his friends. He pushed Veneri out of the way of the oncoming vehicle and was hit.

“I don’t think it was as much intentional as it was instincts,” Hutton said. “It’s bad when one person gets hit, worse when more people get hit.”

He said he remembers seeing headlights and then waking up on the ground.

Veneri said the motorcyclist was thrown off his vehicle. She said he then stood up and walked his motorcycle over to the side of the road. Later, at the hospital, she said his face was bloody, and he looked like he was in shock.

The name and condition of the motorcyclist are unknown at this time.

Patsy Hutton, Chris’ mother, said her son has a broken right hip socket, a fractured right pelvis, three cracked ribs, a bruised kidney and bladder and had bleeding in his brain, which has since stopped. So far, she said he has had three or four CT scans and several X-rays.

Chris Hutton first went to Robinson Memorial Hospital, where the doctors first thought he just had abrasions, Patsy Hutton said. After learning the full extent of his injuries, she said they moved him to Akron City Hospital.

“He was holding up pretty well (Saturday),” she said. “He’s having a rough day; he couldn’t sleep last night. He’s in a lot of pain.”

Patsy Hutton said her son will have surgery today to reconstruct his hip and possibly another later this week. After he recovers for a week to 10 days, she said they will see what needs to happen next.

“We’re hoping it’s just the one (surgery),” she said.

Judy Veneri, mother of Jessica, said she couldn’t help but feel a little guilty about what happened.

“It could have been my kid there,” she said. “It’s so overwhelming.”

She also expressed concern for Hutton’s mother and how she is dealing with the situation.

Patsy Hutton said phone calls and visits from friends are a great help.

“Chris expects his parents to be there,” she said. “His friends making the extra effort is really important to him.”

Contact religion and minority affairs reporter Bryan Wroten at [email protected].