Ian Reed, a 21-year-old former Hailey man who was severely injured in a car accident last week, was listed in stable condition Tuesday at Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in Boise.
Reed, who now lives in Bliss, underwent six hours of surgery following the June 20 accident to repair a compound fracture in his left upper leg and a broken right ankle, said his mother, Lea Flocchini, of Hailey.
"He's in a lot of pain and has a long recovery ahead of him, but he's very happy to be alive, and so are we," Flocchini said. "He's a very fortunate young man. This could have been so much worse."
The accident was Reed's second brush with death in less than a year. Last winter he became snowbound for four days west of Atlanta after he tried to take a shortcut using mountain roads on a trip from Boise to Hailey. After his rescue, Reed said he stayed alive by using survival skills taught to him by his father, James Reed, of Hailey.
The car he was driving when he became snowbound was the same one he was driving when he collided head-on with a truck late in the afternoon of June 20 on Idaho Highway 20 west of Fairfield, near the border between Elmore and Camas counties. He and his father had just retrieved the vehicle, a Suburu station wagon, from where it had been stuck since early December.
"He is a young man who is surrounded by an army of guardian angels," Flocchini said.
She said Reed would be moved to the rehabilitation wing of Saint Alphonsus hospital either late Tuesday or early Wednesday to begin rehabilitative therapy.
"He's going to be fine," Flocchini said. "It's a long road ahead, but I think he has everything it takes to heal properly. He's grounded now, so he's feeling pretty helpless, but he'll recover."
Flocchini said he has been amazed by the community support she and other family members have received following the accident.
"Thank you to all our friends and people in the community for all their prayers and calls," she said. "This is a really awesome community."
Ian Reed
