

| Subject: |
okay time for us to give some help out a fellow bartender...
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| From: | CareerBarJockey
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| Posted: |
Sun Dec 24. 2006, 07:27 UTC
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A buddy of mine posted this on another forum I hang out at.\
Thursday, December 21, 2006
One storm story left by the side of the road
By ROBERT L. JAMIESON Jr.
P-I COLUMNIST
Winds left over from the winter storm Thursday night lashed the body on the
shoulder of Pacific Highway South. The man, lying face down on asphalt, was
fading fast.
In the frigid wee hours, the car that struck him as he walked home early
Friday sped off, leaving behind blood and broken bones.
A popular Seattle bartender; a one-time investor in the Starlite Lounge near
Pike Place Market; a man hoping to make a career switch to real estate; a
beloved brother and son; a 36-year-old father-to-be.
This is the man the hit-and-run driver left in the rear view mirror. His name
is Christopher Niemeyer.
Many stories emerged from last week's big storm. Mass power outages. People
dying while trying to stay warm. Trees crashing onto roofs.
Lost amid these is Niemeyer's.
Just before he was knocked over, he was on his cell phone talking to fiancée
Reanna Channer. He spent Thursday night tending bar at Salty's at Redondo
Beach, and told her he was heading home after meeting friends for drinks.
But at 1:47 a.m. Friday, Niemeyer followed up with a desperate text message
before losing consciousness: "Help."
Channer missed it. She had gone to bed and wouldn't know what happened until
officers knocked at 5:30 that morning.
According to Federal Way police, a green Buick Le Sabre slammed into Niemeyer
near South 288th Street and Pacific Highway South, and kept going.
For more than two hours, Niemeyer, who tops 6 feet and has blond hair, was
lost to the world, a crumpled heap by the road -- until a passer-by took a
closer look.
That pedestrian saw something that turned out to be someone and called 911,
saving Niemeyer's life in the numbing chill.
For now Niemeyer, semiconscious at Harborview Medical Center, is in serious
condition. He is breathing with a ventilator. He suffered head cuts, three
fractured vertebrae, a fractured shoulder blade, seven broken ribs and a
collapsed lung.
His left leg is broken, but he can move it. His right leg was not broken but
it won't budge. He opens his eyes at times. When conscious, he responds to
commands by squeezing fingers.
There are many questions, but Niemeyer can't answer them right now.
One is why he was out walking so late in bad weather in the first place.
Family members surmise that getting a taxi home during the wild weather might
have proved too difficult.
Authorities learned that Niemeyer is an avid runner -- logging more than 50
miles a week -- so trekking distances wasn't out of the question. He was found
close to the Des Moines condo he and his fiancée recently moved into.
But why didn't he just drive?
Niemeyer's sister, Jill Trekell, has a theory. She says her brother wouldn't
drive after imbibing, especially after losing a friend in a drunken driving
accident more than a month ago.
"They all made a pact not to drink and drive," Trekell said of her brother and
his buddies.
But another mystery in the case is on the verge of being solved; a day after
the accident, someone called police to discuss possibly hitting something
while driving on Pacific Highway.
Detectives followed up and spoke with the driver of the Buick, which has
damage consistent with a collision. Police took the car as part of the
investigation.
"It is unusual," says Stacy Flores, a Federal Way police spokeswoman. "You
don't often have people just call up and say they might have hit someone."
At least someone has a conscience, even if doing the right thing comes a
little late.
As it turns out, Niemeyer has a conscience, too. Two years ago, Niemeyer
joined forces with other Seattle restaurant workers to raise money for Maria
Federici, a Belltown bartender from Renton blinded after wood flew off a truck
and smashed the windshield of her Jeep while she drove home. Federici's
accident spurred tougher state penalties for driving with unsecured loads.
Niemeyer has no health insurance. He faces crushing medical bills. He and his
pregnant fiancée, a designer, are expecting a baby in the spring.
This man who survived being left to die alone along a dark and cold road could
use a helping hand -- again.
** HOW TO HELP **
Donations can be made to help Christopher Niemeyer at any branch of Washington
Mutual Bank. The branch administrating the fund is the Harvard Market Branch,
which can be reached at 206-461-7172, Ext. 3. E-mails can be sent to the
Niemeyer family at jill5172[at]hotmail.com.
P-I columnist Robert L. Jamieson Jr. can be reached at 206-448-8125 or
robertjamieson[at]seattlepi.com.
I don't know about you all but I am going to help out. Lets give back to one
of our own.
CBJ
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