"He's a Miracle": Fargo Mother Speaks Out After Son Loses Leg in Police-Chase Crash

Isaac Putney had just moved into his first apartment with his girlfriend, ten days before a stranger's decision to run from a Cass County deputy nearly killed him. On Sunday evening, Putney, 19, was turning onto 15th Avenue South in Fargo, North Dakota, when a Chrysler 300 — allegedly fleeing police at speeds up to 120 mph — slammed into his motorcycle.

Putney lost his left leg below the knee and shattered bones in his arm up to the elbow. He avoided any head trauma. "He's a miracle. The fact that his head was not hit was unbelievable," his mother said. Doctors have determined his remaining knee is functional; he's now hospitalized awaiting surgery to finalize the amputation, with his arm in a cast after a debridement procedure.

"I'm just trying hour by hour," she said. "As a mom, you can fix boo-boos, but you can't take away hurt, you can't take away pain." Putney works in concrete construction; the apartment he and his girlfriend had just moved into together is now on hold while he recovers.

The driver, 24-year-old Elijah Baumann of Moorhead, Minnesota, faces pending formal charges. Putney's mother has been direct about what she wants from that process: "I just want justice. I hope my son gets justice." A GoFundMe campaign set up to help with his recovery has raised more than $20,000.