Calumet Theatre exec director in fair condition after motorcycle mishap
Calumet Theatre exec director in fair condition after motorcycle mishap
By GARRETT NEESE, DMG Writer
HOUGHTON — The Calumet Theatre’s executive director is in fair condition following a motorcycle accident near his home Friday.
Jim Lowell, 60, of Lake Linden, hit a deer on his motorcycle while nearing his home on Winterhaven Road in Schoolcraft Township.
The Bootjack First Responders discovered Lowell at the scene of the accident at about 6:45 Saturday morning and reported it to the Michigan State Police Calumet Post.
Lowell doesn’t remember the crash. But based on when Lowell had left for home, the time of the crash is estimated at about 1 p.m. Friday, said his wife, Linda Lowell.
The cause was clearer.
“There was a dead deer lying next to the nearly dead motorcycle,” she said.
Linda Lowell was visiting her son and daughter-in-law in Minneapolis on Friday. After trying unsuccessfuly to reach him on Friday and Saturday morning, her son called Keweenaw Memorial Medical Center, where they said Lowell had been admitted about half an hour earlier.
Linda’s intial reaction was disbelief, though hearing that he was awake and alert made things easier.
It was poor timing on her husband’s part, Linda said. On most days, she would have driven by the accident site on her way home from work.
“It was the one day when I wasn’t there to find him,” she said.
Mercy Ambulance took Lowell to Keweenaw Memorial Medical Center in Laurium, from which he was transferred to Marquette General Hospital. Superior Service removed the motorcycle.
Linda rode with her daughter-in-law to Marquette, where she stayed until Monday. Jim Lowell broke his right ankle, left wrist and a couple vertebrae in the crash.
By the time she left, he was up and around, walking for short stretches down the hall using a walker.
“He’s doing pretty well,” she said.
Lowell, who was still in serious condition on Tuesday, was in fair condition as of this morning.
Linda anticipates that Jim will be able to return home by early next week at the latest. After speaking to Jim on Tuesday morning, Linda relayed his appreciation for the Bootjack First Responders.
“They were very businesslike,” she said. “They took great care of him.”
While it’s unknown if anyone was in a position to help Jim before Saturday morning, Linda implored people not to ignore potential victims.
“If you do hear something that sounds odd, check it out,” she said. “Somebody might need some help.”
Garrett Neese can be reached at gneese@mininggazette.com
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