Caption: Earl Evans and his 2003 Victory Motorcycle.

On February 20, 2012, Alissa Boyle of Salem, Ohio, a Waynesburg University Senior Nursing Student, sustained life altering injuries when she and her passenger Cami Abernethy, also a nursing student at Waynesburg, stopped to assist the driver of a vehicle who had fallen asleep and crashed on an overpass on I-79 in Pennsylvania. 

Alissa and Cami were in route to Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown, West Virginia for their senior clinical at the time.  They were able to provide assistance, helping the driver exit the vehicle.  It was 6:15 in the morning, still dark, and difficult to see anything that headlights didn’t expose when the three faced a tractor-trailer heading directly towards them.  Alissa, Cami and the rescue victim made a split decision to jump from the overpass to avoid being struck by the truck.

The 50-foot fall has left Alissa with a severe spinal cord injury and she is unable to walk.  Alissa had become engaged to a member of the U.S. Military just prior to the accident.  Optimistic about her recovery, Alissa is determined to graduate from college and work as a registered nurse, despite being given a one percent chance to walk by her doctors.

Costs associated with the care of a patient with a spinal cord injury are substantial.  To help with the expenses, Professional Truck Driver Earl Evans will attempt a 1000-mile 24-hour endurance motorcycle ride. All expenses for the ride will be paid by M.E. Evans Trucking with 100% of the donations going to benefit Alissa Boyle.  Sponsors may wish to pledge by the mile or donate any set amount of money.  Earl will begin the ride in Canfield, Ohio in late June (exact day will be determined by the weather) and will head north of Sudbury, Ontario Canada across Manitoulin Island, then a ferry ride across the Georgian Bay and returning home through Buffalo, New York.

Donations for the “Alissa Boyle Benefit” can be made at any Farmers National Bank Branch or sent to M.E. Evans Trucking, P. O Box 522, Canfield, OH  44406.  If you have any questions, please call Earl at 330-533-0995 or 330-518-3251.

Alissa and her family will be very grateful for your support!