Jacob Badgley gives two thumbs up from his hospital bed after the accident.
Photo from GoFundMe
SNOHOMISH — On May 31, 14-year-old Jacob Badgley of Snohomish was in a dirt bike accident while racing in Washougal. After a long spinal surgery at Legacy Hospital, Badgley is still paralyzed from the chest down.
He has since woken up with no medical change. His family is considering stem cell treatments and experimental trials for the damage.
The family is looking for help to pay for Jacob’s future treatments through GoFundMe.
According to Jacob’s GoFundMe page, parents Travis and Joanna Badgley are thankful for the outpour of love and support from their family and friends.
Shaun Donnelly, a close family friend of the Badgleys, was present at the race where the injury occurred. Jacob’s injury was due to a bad landing in the race.
“I heard it over the radio: ‘#117 Jacob Badgley goes down. We’re going to red flag this race. We hope he’s okay’. When I heard that, I sprinted to see him,” Shaun Donnelly said. “Jacob doesn’t do team sports anymore. Moto is his whole life.”
Motocross is a motorcycle sport held on challenging offroad tracks that sometimes include jumps and wide-ranging terrains. Motocross races often have multiple “motos”, which is a single race within a large event.
Jacob Badgley started riding a dirt bike at 4 years old and started racing shortly after at 5. He progressed rapidly and has been all over the country for different races in the past 10 years.
Shaun Donnelly said it’s been really cool to watch Jacob advance throughout the years, coming from a racing background himself. He has been riding for over 34 years and has raced all over the Midwest and California.
“He’s such a good kid. Very pleasant to be around and helps all the younger kids,” Shaun Donnelly said. “That’s what stands out about him. He never had the cool guy attitude.”
11 years ago, the Badgleys and Donnellys met at a T-ball meet for their boys. Jacob’s dad saw Shaun wearing a dirt bike shirt and immediately struck up a conversation. The families have been close ever since.
Chelsea Donnelly, Shaun’s wife and close friend of Jacob’s mom, said that the outpouring of support from the community was not anticipated.
She hosted a local auction at Dairyland Brewing where all the proceeds would go toward Jacob and his family.
“Jacob’s race number was #117. We had a lot of people either donating $117 or buying 117 raffle tickets,” Chelsea Donnelly said. “You never know how many people love anybody until something like this happens. Seeing how much love and support his family gets… It’s incredible.”
A few hundred people showed up to the auction, many of whom were not even a part of the Moto community. It was a silent auction where all the items were lined up on tables with a sheet bid for people to write down whatever amount they were willing to spend. Whoever outbid everyone was the winner.
There was an enormous amount of items donated from the community to auction off. From yeti coolers, goodie baskets, spa days, timberland sleds, and number plates signed by professional dirt bike racers. There were even people writing four figure checks.
The Donnellys were setting up the auction at noon and didn’t get home until midnight. They raised over $40,000.
The Donnellys are planning on running multiple fundraiser events with hopes to raise enough money for more treatments. News on future car washes, garage sales, and such can be found on the SNOCO MOTO Facebook page.
