Blog: T.C. Drake’s sister to dedicate time on, off court to helmet safety
STAFF REPORT
T.C. DRAKE
Thursday, July 21, 2011, 3 a.m. –– Samantha Drake, a center on UK’s women’s basketball team from Bardstown and sister of former UK Wildcat football standout T.C. Drake, is the subject of a WKYT Sports blog entry posted earlier today on its website.
WKYT’s Steve Moss writes that Samantha was on her way to her home in Bardstown when she happened upon the scene of a motorcycle accident. A call to her mother confirmed that the shattered motorcycle belonged to her brother, who is a former UK tight end.
As a Wildcat, he helped UK fight and beat No. 1 LSU at Commonwealth Stadium in 2007. Today, Moss writes, T.C. Drake is in for the fight of his life.
Drake was on his motorcycle when a drunk driver pulled into his path. He was airlifted to University of Louisville Hospital. His doctors determined Drake suffered head trauma and broken bones in his face, shoulder and back.
The fact that her brother was riding without a helmet was a fluke, Samantha told Moss. “T.C. was always wearing his helment, always safe.”
SAMANTHA DRAKE
Her brother is home now and undergoing rehabilitation for his injuries: Drake’s jaw was rebuilt, but he suffers nerve damage on the left side of his face. Samantha told WKYT that T.C. can’t hear out of his left hear and has trouble closing his left eye.
“It’s going to be a process,” she told WKYT. “One day at a time.”
“His spirits are real good. He realizes what’s happened, but he doesn’t always have it all there sometimes,” Samantha said.
Drake said her brother’s injuries have served as a wake-up call and motivates her on and off the court. She plans to take on promoting helment safety as a personal project.
“It’s important to wear a helmet,” Samantha said, sitting down in Memorial Coliseum with 27 SportsFirst. “It only takes one time to not have a helmet on to change a person’s life.
“Wearing a helmet can keep you safe. Most people wouldn’t have to deal with what me and my family had to go through,” she said.
As Samantha Drake prepares for her second season with the Cats, she will dedicate this upcoming season to her big brother and urges anyone riding a bike or motorcycle to wear a helmet.
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