Minneapolis bus stop crash victim on life support

Christopher Iverson's family said he suffered severe brain injuries. The driver of the car that hit him early Sunday morning is in jail.

By CHAO XIONG, Star Tribune

Last update: June 15, 2009 - 5:24 AM

Christopher Iverson was standing in front of a bus bench Sunday chatting with Cheryl Gouge when he suddenly went flying through the air, hit so hard by a car that it literally knocked him out of his shoes.

The car continued up the sidewalk and smashed into a glass Metro Transit bus shelter. Gouge sat stock still on the bench, Iverson's empty shoes sitting in front of her.

"I looked down, and he was just lying there and there was blood around his head, and the puddle kept getting bigger," said Gouge, whose leg was hurt in the crash.

The crash occurred at 12:11 a.m. on E. Lake Street at 39th Avenue S. The driver, a 49-year-old Minneapolis woman, was arrested and booked into the Hennepin County jail. Police spokesman Sgt. William Palmer said alcohol is believed to be involved, but a blood-alcohol level will not be available for a few weeks. It's unclear how fast the car was traveling, he said.

Iverson, a 48-year-old south Minneapolis resident, was in critical condition Sunday at Hennepin County Medical Center with brain damage and other injuries, said his brother-in-law, Bill Breeggman. Family members expect to decide soon whether to remove life support.

"He might be able to live eating through a tube in his stomach and living in a nursing home," Breeggman said. "We don't want him to live like this."

Dock Ashorobi said he was driving on Lake Street when he saw a black car in front of him veer from the westbound lane. He thought the driver was changing lanes, but she jumped the curb and smashed into Iverson. Ashorobi, a former certified nursing assistant, ran to help.

"He was gasping for air, trying to hold on to dear life," he said. "I checked on the driver. She came out of the car stumbling drunk like a stinking sailor. When she looked, she had a look on her face like, 'Oh my God, what have I done?'"

Iverson lived with his mother nearby in the house he grew up in. Family members think he had gone out to buy cigarettes. He used a bike because of past drunk-driving offenses, a family member said.

Gouge said she and Iverson had bumped into each other, and he had walked her to the bus stop.

Iverson is unmarried and had stopped working because of an injury, Breeggman said. Visiting him Sunday, Breeggman was struck by how naplike his sleep looked, but he said the doctors' prognosis was "gloomy."

"The soul's gone," Breeggman said. "It's just a body."

Chao Xiong • 612-673-4391

Recent Local + Metro stories

Keillor performance to be beamed to movie theaters - June 15, 2009

Keillor performance to be beamed to movie theaters - It may be the next best thing to seeing Garrison Keillor's "A Prairie Home Companion" live. More