Last month a local ran across a cry for help from an Aaron VanCleve asking if there were any Americans in Cozumel that could help his parents. He promptly posted the link on the Facebook page of Cozumel4you and immediately our community came alive.
Robert (Bob) and Kathleen VanCleve along with their other son Brad arrived in Cozumel via a Cruise ship and had been touring the island on mopeds when an accident occurred. The brakes failed Bob’s bike throwing him and his wife on the road injuring them both.
The Cozumel International community embraced this family calming Aaron’s fears, providing information and visiting Bob at the hospital. Kathleen was able to fly home for further medical treatment but because of his condition, Bob had to remain behind alone. There was no shortage of visitors, bearing reading material, and anything Bob might need. My son and I were on hand to transport him to the airport when he was cleared to travel.
I was so proud to be part of this wonderful International Community we call home!
Here is part one of the story of Robert (bob) and Kathleen Van Cleve as recorded by son Aaron VanCleve.
Tuesday May 7th
Kathleen – We got to Cozumel at 9am.
We ate breakfast on the ship because we were delayed. We got off the ship at 10:30am. We walked through the area where the ships
come in and did a little shopping. We
were confronted by someone renting mopeds.
We had already planned on renting a moped anyway. We spoke with this guy and agreed on a price
for two mopeds. My son Brad was alone on
his and I was with my husband. The
mopeds were right there on the street.
We signed our paperwork and did a little brief training thing. They required drive license copies, credit
card deposit, and we signed a contract.
Helmets were mandatory but the helmets weren’t motorcycle helmets. They were very flimsy.
11:30am – We drove north on the mopeds. We stopped at Senor Frogs
and did a little shopping around there.
A really nice man named Jorje or Hector offered to watch the mopeds and
helmets for free and said that if we wanted to tip him when we came back that
would be nice. We went upstairs at Senor
Frogs and had one drink each. We also
had popcorn and had balloon hats made.
We left there and my husband bought a Cuban cigar for my son Aaron at
a stand near the mopeds.
12:15pm – We rode north up the island past all of the resorts, golf
course, airport, until the road turned into a dirt road. It was too bumpy to ride on so we turned
around and went back the other way back all the way to town. We decided to go to Paradise beach or San
Francisco beach.
1:30pm – We were pulling off the main road onto a dirt exit to go to
the beach traveling about 10-15mph.
Bob – I remember hitting the back brakes and they didn’t engage and
the front brakes locked up and we began sliding. We must have been in shock because it was all
kind of a blur. I remember being on my
stomach and screaming “Where’s my wife! Where’s my wife! Please take care of my wife!”
Kathleen – There were a lot of people around right after the
accident, maybe workers in the area.
Brad kept yelling for them to call 911.
Bob was screaming in pain. I
could see the bone popping out under the skin in my arm and all of the
blood.
Bob – Kathleen finally answered me and told me to be quiet. I had rolled over on my back. I was laying on the dirt/pavement and I
remember how hot it was.
Kathleen- People were surrounding Bob because he was in much worse
shape. I remember him screaming “I
promised her she would be safe with me!”
I remember hearing the sirens.
They put a collar on Bob and put him on a backboard to get him in the
ambulance. They put some balloon splint
on my arm. I sat up in the ambulance on
the way to the clinic. Blood was
dripping out of the balloon splint thing all over the floor of the
ambulance. It seemed to take forever to
get to the clinic in the ambulance. It
was at least a half an hour.
Brad was in the ambulance sitting up front and he kept asking me if
I was ok. I kept telling him yes and he
kept telling me it was going to be ok.
We were so worried about what to do with the mopeds. Someone there said they would take care of
it.
Stay Tuned next month for
part two!
Written By:
Aaron VanCleve
