UPDATE 1/22: Family reports on his GoFundMe page that Ronacin died Saturday evening after more than a week in Intensive Care:
Today has been by far the most hardest day for us. Ronacin passed away this evening at 7:50 pm along side him was our whole family and some close friends. No more suffering. We will really miss your smiling face. Your time with us here in Seattle wasn’t very long. I know you are in a much better place. Rest in peace kuya. We love you so much. We will make sure all your children are taken care of. We will try our best to be able to bring you home to the Philippines so your children can see you one last time.
Our deepest condolences go to his friends and family.
The crowdfunding page is still up and running, but now funds will go to help with funeral costs.
Original Story:
Ronacin is fighting for his life in the hospital days after a collision in Rainier Valley that left him critically injured.
Ronacin was biking on S Graham Street from his first job at McDonald’s to his second job at UW when he collided with someone driving a Toyota Rav4 SUV shortly after 3 p.m. Friday, according to Seattle Police and a crowdfunding page set up to help with medical expenses. Medics transported him to Harborview in critical condition with life-threatening injuries.
As of the most current update he is showing some responses, but doctors are keeping him in an induced coma. He has a long way to go.
Ronacin moved to Seattle from the Philippines in August. His wife died around the time of the terrible 2013 Typhoon Yolanda (A.K.A. “Haiyan”), and his grandmother is raising his five kids while he sends support from his work in Seattle, according to updates on the GoFundMe page.
We were over #BeaconHill at 3600 S Graham St #Seattle as @SeattlePD investigated earlier car vs bicycle. Adult male transported critical pic.twitter.com/6evqi2yG3g
— Chopper 7 (@kiro7chopper) January 14, 2017
The person driving was not impaired and was released pending further investigation, according to police. The person driving was headed westbound on S Graham Street when the collision occurred in the block just west of MLK. No further detail were released at this time as the department’s traffic collision team is still investigating.
We send our best wishes to Ronacin and his family and friends.
Ronacin does not yet have health insurance because he was in UW’s probation period. More details from the GoFundMe page:
It seems as if it was yesterday I asked all of you for help.I need prayers for my brother Ronacin who just arrived from the Philippines in August. Today, Friday, January 13th, He was hit while on his bike at around [3] pm on MLK and Graham St. He was thrown from his bike and didn’t have a helmet on and his head hit the pavement. He is in critical condition right now. He has an extensive blood clot on the right side of his brain, and a fractured spine. They will be bringing him to surgery now. He was leaving McDonald’s (his first job) to go home and change to get to his 2nd job at the UW. Unfortunately he never made it home. I got a phone call from one of his coworkers who told me what happened so I rushed to Harborview. Ronacin came here for a better life to provide for his 5 kids in the Philippines. The mother of his children passed away during the time of the Yolanda typhoon. So his grandmother who is 84 years old, is the one taking care of his children. He worked 2 jobs with only a 15 minutes gap in between to get to the next. He has no health insurance because he is still in the probation period at his job at UW. Any little amount helps. Money donated will be used to help pay any medical expenses and support sent to his children in the Philippines. I pray his surgery goes well. Thanks for taking the time to read. Anything small or big will help.
Comments
7 responses to “Dad from Philippines critically injured in collision at MLK/Graham + How you can help – UPDATED”
It’s terrible! I hope Ronacin will recover and be able to return to normal life.
On behalf of my family, thank you.
Dude, settle the crap down. The accident is still under investigation and the excerpt stated the facts that are known right now. (1) There was an accident; (2) the cyclist is critically injured; (3) the cyclist was not wearing a helmet; (4) the driver did not appear to be impaired by alcohol or drugs.
Other than that, we know nothing and will likely know nothing until (1) footage from nearby surveillance cameras is discovered and/or (2) SPD completes their investigation. Blaming people without knowing any facts makes you look like a fool.
On behalf of my family, thank you. We are also still waiting for the complete details of the police report, etc.
Hello,
Ronacin’s sister here. As of now we still have no definite answers on how exactly or what exactly happened. He is still in critical condition.
Thank you for the update.
Hey Pedro/Whoever you really are? out for some other monetary interest or whatever because you are obviously not making sense for being able to think it’s proper to blab off with the mouth like an idiot! WATCH YOUR MOUTH AND HAVE SOME RESPECT! What is wrong with you? Please everyone excuse this typical response from someone paid to do this kind of thing as a career for the interest of insurance most likely. Nobody else in their right mind or with any conscience at all would just rattle off with the mouth like they have no sense about them in the least bit! just pretend this guy is not on this blog or if another character comes on to replace them be aware and try not to let them upset you. they do this and if seems like they have no business making a comment and have no compassion ignore them they are no good! I am a bike rider here in Seattle on here to check out what happened with this unfortunate event and I heard about it from a very good friend of mine who is from the mainland if I am saying that right? People from the Phillipines are great people and hard workers some of the coolest people you’ll ever meet. This happening is sad news and I am sorry to hear about it. Tradition here if it has not happened already is to paint a bike all white and leave it there at the sight. So for those that don’t know already that is what it means when you see one of those.