Local community member seeks aid after tragic accident

Motorcycle enthusiast and Felton resident David Ralston, Jr., was involved in a collision on Friday, Sept. 19 that resulted in a critical injury.
According to Ralston, he was traveling northbound on Highway 9 when a truck collided with his motorcycle around 6:40 p.m.
The truck pulled out and stopped in Ralston’s lane and with nowhere to go, Ralston was hit.
“There’s just not much that you can do when your leg is sandwiched between a 2,000 pound truck and a motorcycle,” he said.
After being involved in another motorcycle accident back in 2011, Ralston said he was just getting used to riding again and wasn’t driving with excess speed.
However, the crash resulted in a severe injury to his right leg.
“We had some great first responders from our community,” he said. “There was an active-duty military personnel that was there that was able to tourniquet my leg for me, and there was another passerby that I was able to instruct to call my mom.”
Ralston’s mother, Audrey Johnson, arrived at the scene of the accident and was able to keep Ralston smiling and comfortable until paramedics arrived.
“Once the ambulance showed up, they took me over to the helicopter and I was flown off to Stanford immediately for surgery, where they amputated my leg below the knee,” Ralston said.
Throughout the experience, Ralston said he has maintained a positive attitude that he accredits to his family, friends, and strong ties with the community.
“I probably should have passed out when I saw his leg,” Johnson said, “but that’s not an option when you are a mom, and so I just sat down next to him and held his hand and told him to breathe.”
Upon arriving at Stanford, Ralston was raced into surgery where he remained until the next morning.
Johnson said that she, and about 20 other family members and friends, crammed into Stanford’s intensive care unit waiting room, anticipating the results of his surgery.
Ralston’s Aunt Monica Balton Melended, was one of the family members that stayed overnight in Stanford’s waiting room.
“I am grateful that David has another chance at life,” she said. “We are blessed to have him, he is an amazing nephew and he has so much to contribute to the community and to this world, we were all praying very hard for him . . .”
Those who are interested in helping Ralston during his recovery process can donate to his funding campaign at www.gofundme.com/DRock.
He is currently faced with many expenses including medical bills, cost of adaptability equipment, and the price of a prosthetic. Anyone can help by posting the link to increase exposure, Ralston said.
“Every dollar is going toward the goal of getting me to walk again, and it’s not cheap,” he said.
Ralston said he is anxious to regain mobility so he can return to his job as shipping manager at BRG Sports. He also plans to attend college so he may acquire a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering.
“I’ve always addressed the hard things in my life with humor,” Ralston said. “(T)here’s that old saying that laughter is the best medicine and I do my best to kind of embody that.”