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The Sag Harbor community has rallied once again to help a local family in need.A GoFundMe page was created last week for local carpenter Rob Federico after he was seriously injured in a motocross accident in Calverton. The crash sent him to Stony Brook University Hospital with two broken wrists and two dislocated elbows, as well as two broken and shattered ankles. He is expected to spend several months in the hospital and at a rehabilitation center.
As of Monday morning, in just four days, the GoFundMe page had raised over $16,000.
“He is a really good rider—and a smart rider,” said Mr. Federico’s wife, Terri Federico, a teacher for more than 20 years at Pierson Middle-High School. She said her husband has been riding dirt bikes since he was young, and wears safety gear every time he rides, as well as a neck brace to prevent neck and spinal injuries.
He also often gives advice to young motocross riders, Ms. Federico said, and is the “unofficial pit crew” at the annual Sag Harbor Scouts’ Soapbox Derby.
She said her husband was taking a slow lap to check out a track, although she declined to elaborate on specifically what happened in the accident. “It was just a freak thing,” she said. “We are very well aware of how much worse our story could be.”
She and Mr. Federico graduated from Pierson and his family owned Federico’s Superette, but Ms. Federico said that’s not why people have been so helpful to her, her husband, and their 10-year-old son, Chad. “We have some close friends who realize the reality which Rob and I need to face,” she said.
“Sag Harbor is one giant extended family,” Ms. Federico said. “It isn’t due to us knowing so many people, it is because this is what Sag Harbor does,” she said.
Ms. Federico said her husband enjoys reading the comments of those who have donated, and that it “has inspired Rob in his healing.” He reached his goal for the week, which was to be able to hug Chad.
Donations to the GoFundMe can be made at www.gofundme.com/2886kap8.
Alisha Steindecker on Apr 25, 2016