Teen remains in medically induced coma following dirt bike crash

A Dorchester teen remains in a medically induced coma after he was critically injured last month in a dirt bike crash in south London.

Will Watts was involved in a collision while out with friends on July 18. The crash left him with a broken pelvis and femur, as well as serious head injuries, said Brett Hislop, head coach of the Dorchester Diamondbacks baseball team.

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“He was out with his buddies dirt biking,” said Hislop, who coaches Watts. “He was behind them and trying to catch up to them when the incident happened.”

Watts was heading north on Bradish Road on July 18 when he collided with a truck going east on Glanworth Drive, witnesses said. The intersection is controlled by a stop sign on Bradish.

Watts’s parents Mike and Terri aren’t ready to speak out about their son’s situation but they gave permission to Hislop to share information about his medical condition.

Watts is under the care of a team of doctors who already have operated on his femur and pelvis, but the most serious injuries are those to his head, Hislop said

“They are weaning him off medications and he’s breathing on his own,” he said. “He’s doing well but he is still in that coma.

“There is a lot of uncertainty. I think this is going to be a very long road for everybody.”

Hislop describes Watts as a “very quiet, athletic 14-year-old” who is a talented but humble baseball player to whom other players look up.

“He had a very strong personality, but he didn’t have to say much,” he said.

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Hislop said it was a highlight when he and other coaches managed to get Watts “to crack a smile.”

People who live near the south London intersection where Watts was injured have said it needs better traffic controls.

Area residents have long asked for a four-way stop at the intersection, said Kevin Laidlaw, who lives nearby. Crashes happen there “all the time” due to speeding and poor visibility of oncoming traffic, he said.

Residents struck a committee a few years ago to push for improved traffic measures at the rural intersection, he said.

“It should be a four-way stop,” Laidlaw said. “It won’t take care of everything but a four-way stop would’ve helped. It would be tragic if something else happens.”

Friends of the Watts family have established a GoFundMe page to help support the family and offset medical costs and other expenses they face.

“We are trying to make their life a bit easier for now. You don’t think this is going to happen to people you know or even your own,” Hislop said. “I’m grateful for the support he has had.”

hrivers@postmedia.com
@HeatheratLFP

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