Grants Pass, Ore. — Grants Pass man Roger Watt knows how precious life is.
“I’ve made it further than any of the doctors at OHSU ever thought I was going to make it,” he said.
More than a decade ago he was nearly killed by a driver while riding his bike to work in downtown Portland. In a medically induced coma, he didn’t wake up until two weeks later.
Roger had a severe traumatic brain injury. It still causes him problems with short term memory loss. The scars from his many other injuries remind him of that day.
“My nose was all but taken off my face,” he said.
The driver who hit Roger was drunk and high on marijuana. Roger’s father Nick Watt said the man’s actions affected their whole family. He’ll never forget what the doctors told him.
“He stopped us in the doorway to Roger’s room and looked us in the eye and said ‘prepare yourself. This is a marathon,'” Nick said.
But the father and son say they’ve found a silver lining. They pair up with a Drug Recognition Expert to tell their story and warn others of the dangers of drunk or drugged driving.
The two men said they have a new appreciation for officers who work to keep impaired drivers off the roads, and a new perspective on life.
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