Drunk Motorcyclist Awarded $1.3M For Accident

The story of a drunk Alton motorcyclist who lost his foot in a gruesome accident (The Madison Record), but still recovered more than $1 million for his partially self-inflicted injury, has more twists and turns than the road on which he lay bleeding that fateful day.

Steven Thomas Kirk, from the downstate city of Alton, was riding his motorcycle when he was struck by Enver Hamiti's car. Hamiti was cited by police for not stopping at a stop sign, while Kirk was not arrested for riding his bike under the influence of alcohol.

It's not clear why Kirk's said drunkenness was publicly disclosed but not made an issue or prosecuted. His attorney, Chris Kolker, stated that his client was under the influence of alcohol but that the crash was not his fault, according to another local story published by The Telegraph:

"Officers had no reason at the time to suspect Kirk was drunk and did not obtain a blood sample from the hospital at which Kirk was treated, Kolker said in an interview."

But this is where things get really surreal.

Kirk lay in the street bleeding, his foot and part of his leg severed, but Hamiti (the defendant) remained in his truck and failed to help or call police. Instead, Kirk's attorney told reporters, "the defendant was distracted by prostitutes at the time of the accident."

Shortly after the crash, as if it couldn't get much worse, two men robbed the seriously injured Kirk, even taking a diamond earring straight out of his earlobe.

Bad Samaritan!

Last but not least, a woman who claimed to have been living in an apartment near the crash site testified that Kirk was weaving and driving erratically. But careful research by Illinois injury attorney Amy Meyer, Kolker's co-counsel, revealed that her testimony was false and that she likely had been prepped by Hamiti's insurance agency, Mercury Insurance Co.

Lots of bad karma involved here, and it seems like Kirk's admitted drinking was the least of it. The jury awarded him $1.8 million but subtracted 20 percent to offset his share of the responsibility.